Idelian
by Kal Kally
Summary: Kurapika didn’t know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. Kuroro x Kurapika. Hisoka x Illumi.
1. Where the tides start to turn

**Idelian**

_Author:_ Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.

_Translate:_ This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.

_Disclaimer:_ No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

_Pairing:_ Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon

_Genre:_ Romance/Angst/Adventure

_Warning:_ No, not really.

_Summary:_ Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroKurapika. HisokaIllumi.

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Where the tides start to turn

Silence filled the room. Leorio was leaning to the wall, his head resting on the window glass as he looked at the scene outside. Through the grey glass, both the sky and the earth became so gloomy, even gloomier than a rainy day.

It was snowing. Yesterday Killua would have run outside and played snow fight. But now he only sat silently in the armchair, staring at the dancing flame in the fireplace.

Kurapika leaned back to his chair, his eyes gluing at the clock hanging on the wall. The clock has a very old design that seemed to be quite popular more than a hundred year ago. Even an amateur would know that this was a priceless treasure. The clock's hands moved so slowly. Kurapika found himself lose more and more of his calmness as each minute passed.

All of them startled as the door open. Kurapika and Killua both leapt to their feet. Leorio went to them, a look of worry on his face. A man walked into the room, following by two bodyguards.

The man was short, even shorter than Killua, but his hair had already turned grey. A long scar ran from his left cheek to his chest then disappeared under his shirt. The two bodyguards behind him both wore black glasses, but he didn't. The eyes that were staring at the three hunters were cold and foxy, but if one dared to look deep into them, he would find that sometimes flickering in those eyes were traces of sheer cruelty.

"Are you Kurai?" Kurapika asked cautiously. The chained hand curled into a fist almost unconsciously.

The man bowed in a dramatic way, then stepped to the armchair mostly near to him. Kurai couldn't make it past three steps as the white hair boy suddenly appeared in front of him. The boy grabbed a fistful of his collar and threatened. "Where is Gon?"

The two bodyguards immediately pointed their guns at Killua, but Kurai stopped them. "Little assassin, if you killed me now, your friend would stay in that dark cellar forever. Never be able to escape, even through death. Forever trapped in pain and loneliness by nen and the advance of science."

Killua shuddered at those words. His hand reluctantly left Kurai's shirt as he stepped back. Behind him, Leorio and Kurapika both paled. Before coming here, they both tried to find some information about Kurai, and from what they knew, Kurai was a man who was capable of doing what he said.

"Don't be too worry." Kurai smiled wryly while smoothing down his clothes. "As long as you fulfill your contract, your friend will return safely."

"Are you trying to use hostage against us?" Kurapika said. It was more like a statement than a question.

"Oh no, don't put it that way." Kurai just laughed and sat down. "I only make sure that you won't betray me after having that object. And remember, you are the ones who knocked at my door begging for this contract."

Kurapika bit his lips. He had a reason to do that, and his friends had all been willingly to help him, but he didn't know he would put his friends into such a dangerous situation.

The door opened again and two people stepped in. The three hunters both startled as they realized Hisoka and Illumi.

"What are they doing here?" Leorio asked.

"Like you, they're working for me." Kurai answered.

"I can't believe this! Even you would come here working for him!" Kurapika exclaimed.

"You are mistaken." Hisoka half-smiled. "I never work for anyone. I'm only doing Gon Frecss a little favor. Only that."

Leorio and Killua both didn't bother to hide their disgust, but Hisoka's words made Kurapika think. Hisoka didn't threaten Kurai into releasing Gon but instead did "a little favor". That meant Kurai was either a very powerful man, or a man with much influence. He couldn't help hating himself more for leading his friends into this situation.

Killua stared at Illumi with both anger and fear. "You are here to stop me?"

Illumi just shrugged. "Sadly, I do not have to take care of you all day. A job is a job. A customer is a customer."

Kurai interrupted. "There will be another person that will come here soon. I have been foretold that what I want can only be achieved with seven people. I haven't found the last person yet, but I will soon."

"How can we be sure that you will keep your promise and release Gon after we fulfill the contract? And what if you can't find the seventh person?" Kurapika stopped him.

"At that time, the one that fails to keep the contract will be me."

"But—"

"Stop arguing." Hisoka said abruptly. "Whatever happens, death never goes along with lies."

Kurapika clenched his fist again, but didn't say anything more. Someone Hisoka respected will never be an easy enemy.

Kurai continued. "The one that is going to arrive here is also the one who has given me the foretelling. He will also be your leader in this mission. I don't suspect there will be conflicts between him and you, but I hope that all of you will obey him completely."

"You're setting your hope too high." Hisoka smirked.

Kurai turned to Hisoka and frowned, but then he nodded. "You're an exception, as you don't work for me. We only co-operate. But…" His eyes went back to Leorio, Killua and Gon. "If you oppose this person and ruin my plan, don't blame me for being cruel to your friend. Remember, the little boy will suffer for every mistake you make."

Before anyone could say anything, another person came into the room.

The color of Kurapika eyes abruptly turned into a crimson shade. In front of him was his worst enemy, Kuroro, the leader of the Ryodan.

"Don't, Kurapika!" Leorio screamed, but he was too late. Kurapika had lunged at Kuroro.

Kuroro didn't dodge. The chain tore his sleeve and hit his skin, leaving a red mark on his wrist. Kurapika lunged forward again, but Hisoka stopped him with a hard blow to his stomach. At the same time, a scream filled the room. Kurapika froze, recognizing Gon's voice.

He tremblingly turned back. On the wall appeared a large screen. On it was a scene Kurapika knew he would never be able to forget. Gon was curling up on the floor, moaning painfully, one hand pressing on his chest.

"This will be the last time I tell you this. Another mistake, and the boy will know what true agony means."

* * *

**Chapter 1 End.**


	2. Shards of Yesterday

**Idelian **

**Chapter 1: Shards of yesterday**

* * *

****

Part 1: Eyes of Fire

_Written by: Thanh Nhu_

_Translated by: Kal Kally_

≈º≈

"Gon! Gon! Look!"

Gon was trying to insert the strawberry into the place that would be the snowman's nose when he heard Killua calling him from behind. He turned back, and got a cold snowball to his face. The impact made him fall to the snow-covered ground.

"Kiiillua!" Gon wiped the remaining of the snow on his face away with the back of his hand, half angry, half amused at the trick.

There under a pine tree, the little assassin was pointing at Gon, laughing like he had just seen something very funny. Standing in the middle of a white-filled place, with the white hair and pale skin, with the dangerous, yet innocent aura around him, Killua looked like a mysterious, but alluring picture.

"Nice Shot." Killua yelled, his voice heavy with laughter. "Do you want to fight with me?" He suggested and bended down to scoop up a handful of snow, then rolled it into a ball.

Gon made a dismiss gesture. "No! You will ruin my snowman. But Killua, come here! We will make this snowman together. It only needs something to be a hat. Come here and help me?"

Killua scratched his head. He had seen snow many times before through films and books. But on mountain Kululu, snow never fell, and on the few occasions that he went on 'missions' and happened to see snow, there was simply no time for playing around. So he really had no clue how to make a snowman. But…

He had never thought he would be able to play on a snowfield like this before. And more than that… to be able to stay with Gon, playing, chatting, and fighting…. It's just like a dream, which was even more wonderful than Christmas… than snow…

"I have no idea what we should use to make the hat, Killua." Gon complained. "There's no bucket in the house!"

Killua just shrugged. Except pines and snow, what could they possibly find in this isolated place?

"I'll let you borrow this!" A voice called. The boys switched their attention to the forest's direction. There, Leorio was holding up a pineapple with one hand, the other hand waving at them.

"That's great! It will do!" Gon cried and caught the fruit Leorio threw to him. "Thank you, Leorio!" He placed the pineapple on the top of the snowman, completing his work: a fat but cute snowman with a strawberry as its nose, a pineapple as its head, two pinecones as its eyes and a lots of colorful sweets as its teeth.  
But the pineapple decided that it didn't want to remain in place. It slowly slid down, pulling with it a large part of the snowman's head.

Killua burst out laughing and Gon pouted. The boys quickly became absorbed in repairing the snowman. Their voices and laughter seemed to brighten up the whole area.

'Really nothing more to say.' Leorio thought. 'It doesn't seem that they remember why we are here."

Lifting his sunglasses up a little, Leorio smiled. "But that's good for them, being able to be so comfortable like that. There's really no need to strain ourselves if we don't even know when it will start. At least until this Christmas…" Leorio headed back to the house. This place was just so boring. Everywhere was only snow and pine trees. He had intended to go out for a walk, but soon found himself fed up with the same scene replaying its self again and again.

The flickering flame in the fireplace was making small crackling noises, temporarily destroyed the icy silence in the living room. Its weak warmth crawled out and covered a small area around the fireplace.

Even when staying outside, Leorio didn't really feel cold thanks to his little knowledge about nen. But as he stood at the doorstep staring into the living room, suddenly he felt like he was embraced in freezing coldness. The flame reflected in the eyes of the last person of Kuruta tribe, adding to the crimson shade a glowing light. Yet, even when carrying the sheer color of flame, those eyes had never given a sense of warmth.

The room was dark. The only source of light in the room came from the fire in the fireplace. Kurapika huddled himself in the armchair. His face was hidden behind his arms, revealing only his burning eyes. So beautiful, so wild, yet so sorrowful…

Before Leorio could stop himself, a sigh escaped his mouth. Almost immediately, the glow of fire in that lonely person's eyes disappeared.

Leorio drop himself on the sofa.

Silence was like a thick wall between them. Time ticked away slowly… No one said a word…

How enormous the gap between the world outside and the world inside this room was, Leorio thought. The lonely house in this isolated place was so much like Kurapika. The world outside where Gon and Killua were playing was a very different world, a world that belonged to the innocent of childhood, the pureness of snow, a world that was free and full of laughter. But here, for the whole time Kurapika just tied himself with this fire, lived in a shell formed from shadow and loneliness.

It hurt. His heart hurt to see Kurapika like this, so lonely… so sorrowful…

There are people whose pain was so strong. The pain streamed out like a fall, seemingly never faded. But gradually, the pain became less. As life went on, those people learnt to accept reality and their pain soon became just a part of their memories… But with Kurapika, it was an invisible pain, a quiet sadness that kept smoldering no matter how much time passed.

And how Leorio wanted to chase that sadness away…

"In fact, there is something else, isn't it?" Leorio started the conversation.

"Just what is this 'something'?' Kurapika answered with a question, detachment clearly in his voice.

"What had kindled the fire in your eyes."

Kurapika fell silence. He never wanted to share his secret with anyone. But fate was playing such a cruel game to make the only people that he treasured in his lonely world come here now.

This dangerous work was what he had forced himself to enter. He had a reason. He didn't hesitate. He had no regret. But he didn't want it to involve his friends.

"Nothing. Only that I've just seen a spider on the wall."

"You're lying!" Leorio interrupted. "But if you can't tell me now, I will wait."

Leorio looked so serious, and it made Kurapika unable to find out what to do. Lying was not easy for him, and lying to a close friend was just ten times more difficult.

The day when he found the fateful classified advertisement on newspapers, he had been a solitary revenger, and had thought he would lead that lonely life forever. He had made contact with Kuroi and got an appointment with that man. But when the date was near, Gon, Killua and Leorio came, claiming that they couldn't let him face danger alone, claiming that they couldn't afford losing him. He tried to make them go back, but no matter what he said, they just refused to leave.

Kurapika was moved, yet worry and guilt filled his heart. Was it that destiny had tied him to these people, or that these people were tied to his revengeful battle? He didn't know, but there was something he knew for sure, he didn't want them to involve in his battle anymore.

He just couldn't lose any of these people… Kurapika closed his eyes.

Leorio tried to read Kurapika's expression, but failed. Kurapika's face was hid behind his arms, and his eyes had closed, refusing to reveal any emotion. But the doctor could still felt something, something that was heavy in the silence between them.

He still remembered the day when he received a short message from Gon and Killua on his hand phone, telling him that Kurapika was going to accept a dangerous job, and was staying here. They had come here, not willingly to let their friend be alone in whatever road he had chosen. That day… he found that something had changed in Kurapika's eyes. What was it? Something must have happened. But…

His hand rose, hitting his forehead lightly with his palm. He could only feel the change but he was unable to guess his friend's thoughts and intention. "If only I were as intelligent as him…" Leorio thought.

Darkness reached its arms out, embracing them as the fire was dying slowly in the fireplace. But no one, neither him nor Kurapika has the heart to kindle it.

Suddenly a scream erupted outside, tearing the peacefulness of the evening. Kurapika and Leorio startled, then paled. They flew out of the house, their hearts beating wildly in their chests.

It was Killua's scream, calling Gon's name…

* * *

**Part 2: Crimson Dream**

_Written: Kellie_

_Translated: Kal Kall_

≈º≈

Sometimes I wonder if time could blur the memories in my heart…

When I was small, I was often acknowledged in the village as a gifted child. My parents and the others in my village had all expected me to be a great fighter, a wise scholar, and the next leader of the Kuruta tribe.

How can I forget? No matter how much time passes, this sin cannot be erased. My greatest mistake… How can I forget…? The day of spiders… The bank of Rukuso River was stained in blood, and my village was lost in flames. I can still remember it vividly… a wild crimson shade… so beautiful… so beautiful… like the color of my eyes. Like the color of the flame embracing me.

Dancing…

Dancing…

The flame is dancing in my eyes...

The people of the Kuruta Tribe were famous for the color of their eyes.

The color of fire in the crimson eyes… Will time blur the sin of my past?… or Fate has tied me to them tightly?…

The flame is dancing in my eyes… Who will answer my question?…

≈º≈

"In fact, there is something else, isn't it?"

I hate it. I hate it so much when Leorio looks at me like that. I hate those eyes that bring me such a sense of insecurity. I don't want to share my little secret. Leorio is still staring at me, waiting for an answer. What should I say? I hate to be forced to give lies.

"Just what is this 'something'?'

Leorio knows. He knows that I'm lying. The mask of apathy I wear has never been able to fool him.

"What had kindled the fire in your eyes."

Leorio loves me. I know that. Leorio is the one understand me most. I know that too. Leorio has tried his best to stay by my side for a long time. But I only consider him a friend, a close friend. I love him. I really love him, but always as a brother.

To me, Leorio is the one most important, but…

His feeling for me… I cannot answer… For Fate is so ironic, my heart has belong to another person… My worst enemy…

≈º≈

My peaceful evening… The little house seems to shine a white dusk… My unpeaceful evening…

I am a person of the Kuruta clan. The people of the Kuruta clan are not invincible fighters. But we are not cowards who only know to wait for rescue either. We know when to stand up and fight for our pride… for our homes… and that was the secret of our legendary shade of crimson. Just like everyone else in the clan, my eyes will also turn red when I'm angry, or… afraid. Right now, it's fear that's painting my eyes red. At my left side, Leorio looks pale.

"It can't be… I've just left them for several minutes! Killua only left him for a short while too!" The man stammers.

I observe the snow-covered ground carefully, my hand holding Gon's broken fishing rod. There are footprints on the snow, some of which are deeper than others. All of them seem to belong to Gon. Worry starts to claw at my inside, and I feel my hands slightly trembling. Killua has gone searching for Gon in other places, leaving Leorio and me here. The man also looks worried.

There are only several footprints, and there was just too little time for anything to happen. The kidnapper also didn't get near Gon, as his footprints are the only ones on the ground. The one who was capable of doing this must have a very strong manipulate nen, at least strong enough to repress Gon's own nen and command the boy to leave this area. To be able to command a human being without any intermediary and from such a long distance, this person must be a master of the manipulate nen type… A Ryodan member? May be… May be not. In my head suddenly appears a thought of a message on the computer screen and the appointment that I have got.

"Kurapika! KURAPIKA!"

The voice startles me. Killua has return.

"I don't find him anywhere. There aren't any vehicles or suspicious people around here either." Killua panted, worry clearly shown on his face.

Leorio stares at me as if I could give him an answer. "But… that's impossible! That boy can't just disappear into the air! If this is a joke, I'll surely—"

"Leorio, this is not a joke."

I interrupt him. Killua has paid attention to me, but there's something strange in his eyes. Something like… suspicion?

"Gon has been kidnapped by someone of the manipulate nen type. Look at the footprints on the ground. Some are deeper than the rest. He had tried to resist the hostile nen."

I point at the traces that disappear near a pine tree. The last footprint is quite deeper than others.

"Gon must have jumped up here onto this pine tree, and left here by this way. The one who commanded him seemed not to want us to follow his footprints and find him…"

A hideous laughter interrupts me. I look up, unprepared to face with Killua's pale, strangely hateful face. He was laughing.

"It's YOU! It's YOU who harm Gon!"

"Killua ... I …" I stammer.

"DIE!"

Killua screams and lunges at me, his sharp claws aiming at my throat.

The intense pain when Killua crushes my throat with his claws is the last thing I feel before I fall into a dark, empty and silent abyss. And soon, a terrible coldness is all what's left. It feels like a rain of icy shards are falling on me, each shard cutting into my bones, tearing my skin and freezing my body into numbness. My screams are stuck in my throat, unable to come out, unable to voice my agony.

Suddenly I feel my body jerking up as if someone is trying to pull me back. The icy air becomes less and less cold. The pain also becomes less, replaced by a strange warmth. Someone is hugging me. I open my eyes, and see Leorio's worrying face.

"Thank God! You've woken up!"

I look around, recognizing the familiar room. Near the fireplace, Kuroro is observing me with his cold eyes…

It is only a dream…

A crimson dream…

* * *

TBC... 


	3. Call of hatred, Fear of desire

**Chapter 3: Call of hatred, Fear of desire.**

_Written by Killua  
Translated: Kal Kally_

_Author:_ Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.

_Pairing:_ Kuroro/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, Killua/Gon (Though this pairing depends on how you view it.)

_Warning:_ The rating has been changed into M for violence and some contents in the future.

_A/N:_ Finally I finished this fic in my language, and now able to concentrate in this version of the fic. I will try to update more frequently, once every one or two weeks. Please review if you like it.

-----

The morning had come, but it was still dark outside. The flame flickering in the fireplace was the only light source in the room. The dim light wasn't strong enough to lighten up the thick darkness. Kurapika had waked up, but didn't seem to be aware of the surrounding yet. Lying in Leorio's laps, Kurapika just stared up at him with the eyes that were carrying a faint color of blood. It wasn't anger that lay within those depths, it was fear.

Kurapika was slightly trembling in his arms. What had he seen in his dream? What could make the blond so shaken up like this? Leorio smiled, gently brushing away a curl of hair from those beautiful eyes. How Leorio wanted to protect this person, to chase away the pain in his soul and melt the ice surrounding his heart.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

What a wrong thing to say. Leorio regretted it even before he finished his sentence. In a second, Kurapika was fully awake. He pulled himself out of Leorio's hold and created a remarkable space between them.

"I know how to take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me."

The same cold voice, the same indifferent tone… Kurapika had returned to his usual self. A moment of weakness, a moment of releasing his soul from the burden of his painful quest easily passed. Now before Leorio was again a cold person of reason and responsibility.

Each of Kurapika's word cut into Leorio's heart more efficiently than any weapon. But Leorio knew there was nothing he could do except staring at the thick wall that once again built up between them…

-----

The fire was still flickering. Kurapika huddled in a corner where the light couldn't reach. It would be better if darkness just swallowed him up and let him melt into it.

Kurapika knew he had hurt Leorio with his cold attitude, but that was the only thing he could offer the man. He wasn't so blind that he couldn't see Leorio's feelings for him; the man was just too obvious. He couldn't stand the way Leorio was treating him. So caring… He didn't know how to deal with that person, so instead of confusing himself with unnecessary emotions, he chose the easiest solution: Running away.

Tumultuous thoughts kept swirling in his head. Kurapika cast a glance at the direction of the fireplace.

Eyes met eyes. Kuroro hastily turned back to the book he had been reading. Kurapika sighed, wondering what the feeling that was burning in his chest was. Love, or Hate?

Kuroro, each time that name was mentioned to him, the past revived before his eyes vividly. The dark shade of crimson... the spiders... He hated. His father, his mother, his people... He hated him. The flame burning in his heart, the flame carrying the color of blood... it demanded revenge.

But...

Kuroro, each time that name was mentioned to him, some little peacefulness returned to his heart. Right now, with Kuroro's presence near him, Kurapika felt strangely safe. He wanted Kuroro. He wanted Kuroro to want him, to throw away everything and become his.

He hugged himself tighter. Exhaustion couldn't chase away the pain that was slowly eating away his mind or the conflict that was tearing his heart.

Kill him, or Want him?

Revenge, or Desire?

He only knew one thing. If it had to be Revenge, then it must be him to kill that person, it must be his hands that would be drenched in that person's blood. If it had to be Desire, then that person must belong to him, and only him.

-----

In the dim light, Leorio was also watching Kurapika, but as usual, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't guess what Kurapika was thinking. The shadows had helped Kurapika to hide his emotions as effectively as a thick coat. It was as if the blond had drawn a clear line before him, preventing anyone from coming near and getting into his heart.

Kurapika's expression only told him of exhaustion, but as his eyes continued to fix on the lonely Hunter, he realized in the flame reflected in those depths was the image of another person. Kuroro. And even the shadows couldn't shield away the mixed emotions. Affection and longing... Hatred and regret... Leorio knew Kurapika refused him that fiercely all because of that person. He also knew how Kuroro felt about the blond. Reading other's emotions was never his strong point, but one must be blind not to realize the raging storm of jealousy and anger hiding in Kuroro's eyes. Kuroro never stopped reading that damn book, but Leorio could almost feel murder heavy in the silence around him when he was holding Kurapika in his arms.

Leorio was painfully aware that it was only hatred and responsibility that prevented them from being together... But... love meant selfishness. How could he just stand there watching Kurapika in the arms of another? How could he hand over the blond without a fight? Could he be able to stand seeing the blond belong to someone else?

Deep down inside, Leorio knew the answer, yet he couldn't find a way to win over Kurapika's heart.

He didn't know when he had drifted to sleep, but when he woke up, it had already been the morning. Leorio groaned. It was the throbbing pain in his head that pulled him back from his sleep.

"So finally you wake up."

Leorio opened his eyes and saw Killua. The boy looked strangely anxious. However, Leorio still complained while rubbing his head. "Why can't you find some better way to wake me up?"

"Fine. Next time remember me to hit you harder, if you want."

He might lose calm, but he was still very Killua-like – Leorio thought. Giving up arguing with Killua, he looked around and instantly had a dreadful feeling that something bad had just happened. He sprang to his feet and dashed to the door. There was nothing outside except snow. Behind him, Killua was still standing there with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently.

Leorio turned around, staring at Killua in disbelief. "Killua, what the hell had just happened?"

Finally withdrawn his hands from his pockets, Killua answered him slowly. "That was what I wanted to ask you."

They stared at each other, worried and confused.

Everyone else had disappeared.

-----

At the same time, in another place, somewhere that lack of snows, of cold and silence...

It was a crowded, wealthy town. In a dark alley, Hisoka and Illumi were encountering the same problems. They were also separated from the others and put into an unfamiliar place.

"Interesting! The game has just begun." Hisoka held up a Jack club and threw it lightly at the wall in front of him. The card hit the wall and cut into its surfaced.

Illumi stood with his arms folded, watching Hisoka and his little game. "I wonder where we should go to find our companions." He said quietly.

"Companions? Illumi, they're not our companions. They're just the cards that will be played when the right time comes. We don't need to find them. There're multiple ways to win a game and I'll find that thing in my own way. Oh." He chuckled. "And doing Gon Freecs a favor by the way."

Another card, the King Diamond plunged into the wall easily like it was a dart.

"And I don't want to go with Kuroro. Not yet. He has recovered his ability and I want to fight with him."

This time it was the Ace Heart.

"And before that, it's not a good idea to let your opponent know much about you, right?"

Hisoka's laughter echoed in the alley. There was no malice in his laughter, only the sheer joy of someone who would soon be able to get what he wanted. Yet there was still a hint of danger.

"You will go with me, won't you?" It was more like a statement than a question.

"You know I'll go with you, but Hisoka, you're still as imperious as usual." Illumi sighed.

"All the cards are here. Now we only have to make the first move." Hisoka ignored Illumi.

The last card in the deck was a Joker. It was thrown with so much force that it almost sank into the wall completely. The impact created when it hit the wall made all the earlier cards fall down.

At that moment, a man came into the alley. They didn't know who he was, as the thick, black coat and the hood hid his appearance. The stranger walked to them, and pulled the last card out of the wall easily. When the card left the brick surface, the whole wall collapsed.

Illumi frowned and Hisoka lifted his eyebrows. To be able to pull out the card Hisoka had thrown with his nen without any difficulty, this man wasn't weak at all.

"That's right. The time has come to make the first move." The man turned to them and said.

-----

When Kurapika woke up, he found himself in a cell with Kuroro. It seemed Kuroro had just waked up not very long before him.

Only two of them... Kuroro was holding his book, paying no attention to his surroundings. The cell door was heavily locked.

Only two of them... The morning light seeped in through rusted bars, illuminating the open pages. There was only one window.

Only two of them... Their hands were all manacled, but Kuroro had destroyed his handcuffs and now he was reading comfortably.

Kurapika quickly analyzed their situation. Kuroro didn't seem to know what had happened either. Somebody, presumably someone with strong nen had locked them here without their knowing. That person had even brought them away in front of Killua, Hisoka and Illumi. Who on earth was powerful enough to do that?

He sat up. It was useless wondering who that person was. Right now finding a way to get out of here was more important. Gon was still kept as a hostage and he wanted to get his friend back as soon as possible. And beside, he didn't want to stay here alone with Kuroro. Either Hatred or Desire... if he stayed near Kuroro any longer, his self-control might crumble, and Kurapika wasn't sure what would become of him then.

His eyes stopped at the window. The bars were thin and rusted. The window was not very large, but still big enough for him to climb out if he broke the bars.

Kurapika destroyed his handcuffs easily then stood up and walked to the window. He tried to break the bars, but even when he used his nen, the bars still remained unharmed. As he examined them more carefully, he realized that the bars were all strengthened by nen.

...but anything was better than doing nothing. He tried again.

"It's no use. Don't be reckless." Putting his book down, Kuroro said. Finally he broke the silence.

Kurapika refused to show any discomfort under Kuroro's stare. "It's not reckless. It's courage. Not like some cowards who gave up after the first try." His voice turned bitter and full of sarcasm. He couldn't help it. He didn't even know what he was saying. Kuroro's voice reminded him of the massacre in the past.

"It's not cowardice either. It's patience." Kuroro sighed sadly. Kurapika hadn't forgotten. "I've tried every way. Both the bars and locks were strengthened by nen, and whoever it was, that person is too powerful."

And then... silence...

... after a long time, Kuroro sighed again. "Why? Everything would be easier if you forget."

That was it. The balance that Kurapika had tried so desperately to maintain was destroyed in a moment. When the past was mentioned, it revived and refused to go away. It flamed up the anger sleeping in his heart. His painful past... It was so long ago, but it still felt like everything had just happened the day before.

...Blood...

All calmness lost. He flung himself at Kuroro.

... Blood... Blood was everywhere... the empty holes that should have been the eyes of his people... shock... lost... pain...

Caught off guard, Kuroro only had time to leap to his feet and dodged. However, the chain still left a long gash on his left cheek. Blood started dripping onto his clothes.

...His parents... the spider... the spiders... Ryodan...

Kurapika only saw red. Anger and hatred swallowed almost every thought, leaving only one command: KILL. KILL HIM. That single thought filled his consciousness and controlled his action.

He clenched his teeth, trying to calm down, but it was no use. His eyes must have completely changed into the color of blood, but he did not care. He couldn't care even if he wanted to. This was not right, his logic screamed. Fighting with Kuroro would only prevent him from helping Gon. Kurapika trembled, trying to stop himself, but slowly, the hand with the chain rose.

Attacked, and continued to attack. The chain seemed to weave into a net around Kuroro. But it still wasn't enough.

Without the slightest hint of being afraid, Kuroro didn't move from his position. He put no effort in defending himself, even though the chain continue to leave deep cut on his clothes and skins.

KILL HIM! KILLLLL!

Kurapika didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He just kept putting more and more force into the chain. Kuroro's clothes were torn in many places, and blood had formed into a small pool at his feet. Yet it wasn't enough... It would never been enough... The burning hatred in his heart demanded more.

DIE! DIEEEE!

He heard his own scream without knowing that he had screamed... years of loathing... of searching in vain... years of pain and sorrow... the suppressed emotions all escaped at the same moment, pushing him to the verge of sanity...

Blood... Blood was everywhere... But it was not the haunting shade of crimson that he saw every night in his sleep... This time blood was strangely beautiful... He craved for it... He searched for the pain on Kuroro's face... The chain continued to attack. Faster... Harder... Stronger...

Kuroro's hand was pressing on his chest, where blood had nearly dyed his shirt red. He slowly collapsed.

Kurapika stopped, his eyes dazed.

The chain fell down, creating a dry noise when metal clashed to the ground.

And then... silence...

TBC…


	4. Unanswered Question

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

A/N:

To MoonlessRoad: Everything would be revealed, though slowly. Thank you so much for the review. I thought I have lost hope : D

≈•≈

**Chapter 4: Unanswered Question**

_Written by Killua_  
_Translated: Kal Kally_

≈•≈

The chain clashed to the ground, creating a dry noise. Its metal was wet with blood. The smell of blood was heavy in the air, making it hard to breath

Kurapika stared at the body on the stone floor before him. He was still seeing the world through red, but anger no longer clouded his mind. Yet he felt nothing. From the bottom of his heart darkness was spreading out. The darkness that was created by his own weakness robbed away all thoughts and emotions, leaving him only emptiness. The tragic past and the painful present collided, demanding him to face with the question he had always been running from. 'Should I kill him?'

The sky outside the window was painted with the sorrowful color of sunset. The dim light of the end of a day drifted in through the barred window, illuminating only half of the room. Kurapika was standing in that light while Kuroro was lying in darkness. Would he be strong enough to step over the line created by light and shadow to finish what had been started years ago?

The flame once again flared up in his eyes. His hand clenched around the chain.

The one who had murdered his people... The leader of Genei Ryodan... He. Must. Die.

Kuroro. Must. Die.

Kurapika walked closer to Kuroro, entering the dark part of the room. Darkness strengthened his determination and reminded him of his responsibility and hatred.

It hurt. He hurt. His heart was bleeding with every step. But he had been so used to pain... Just once more time let his heart be wounded... it didn't matter.

The head of the chain from his middle finger sank into Kuroro's chest. He had used much force, yet there was no reaction from Kuroro. Kurapika blinked. The man didn't stir, didn't moan. There was just no reaction at all. It felt as if he had attacked a corpse. Had Kuroro died?

For a moment his heart seemed to stop. But then he stepped closer. It couldn't be. The leader of Ryodan would not die that easily.

The chain was pulled back. Kurapika stopped beside the body and kneeled down to examine it. His hands were shaking, but his eyes were full of determination. He brushed away a curl of hair from Kuroro's face. His eyes softened for a moment, but then Kurapika scowled himself for doing unnecessary thing. He took Kuroro's wrist, finding the pulse.

Suddenly he froze as his eyes fell on a piece of metal that must have fallen out of Kuroro's clothes when he collapsed.

It looked strangely familiar. Slowly, a memory returned to him.

_Flash back_

"Kurapika! Kurappikkaaaa!

"Leorio, stop yelling! It hurts my head!"

"What are you saying? To find someone this is the most effective way. Try it if you don't believe.." Leorio argued.

"No thanks! I don't intend to make myself an idiot!" Killua retorted.

"What?"

"Stop quarrelling." Gon interrupted. "But Leorio, you have been shouting for 4 hours. Don't you feel your throat sore?"

"Not at all."

Gon and Killua sweat-dropped.

"Beside, Kurapika is still missing. What if he were kidnapped? What if his enemies found him?"

"Kurapika is not a child. Not to mention that he's the strongest of us. I feel sorry for anyone who dares to kidnap him." Killua said.

"But--"

Killua pulled Gon to the house's direction. "Just keep finding if you want, but make sure that we don't have to find you once he comes back."

≈•≈

Far from the house where they were staying, Kurapika was also searching for someone. He had gone deep into the forest north of the house, but still had no sight of that person.

It took him a little more, but finally he spotted a man sitting on a flat rock. The man was clad in black coat with hood. A piece of black cloth hid his face, revealing only sharp, cruel eyes. A small thin chain hang around his neck, on it was a round pendant made by some kind of metal. It looked old and rusted, but it was beautifully carved.

That form... strangely looked like someone... Kurapika shook his head lightly. It couldn't be. His archenemy couldn't be here.

Kurapika walked closer, his head filled with thoughts. This person had left a note in front of his and Leorio's room, telling him to go here as he had information about Ryodan. Kurapika was sceptical, but he decided to go to meet the mystery man in the end.

The man didn't say a word, just staring at him intensely. Kurapika didn't feel danger, however he didn't feel safe either. He made a step forward, but hesitated, unsure if he should raise his voice first.

"You don't need to say anything. You just need to listen." The man suddenly said.

It was as if the man could read his thought.

The man laughed. "The answer is 'yes'. I can read your mind."

Kurapika startled. His eyes sharpened, but he didn't move from his spot. This man was dangerous, and...

"Arrogant." The man finished his thought for him and chuckled.

Kurapika tensed. He grabbed the chain tighter, ready to fight if needed.

"What do you want from me?"

"Did I say that I want anything from you?"

"But... Aren't you the one who left the note before my room?"

"Yes."

"You told me that you wanted to meet me here!"

"Oh... I forget. But beside that I don't want anything from you."

"You... I don't understand." Kurapika started to feel annoyed. "Then why do you call me here? Is this a joke?"

"I called you here because of something so interesting that I'm sure you'll like it very much."

"Just spit it out or shut up!"

"Don't be furious. Impatience is not good for someone who seeks for revenge, you know." The man said with teasing voice.

What did he say? Kurapika startled. Revenge... that single word made his blood seemed to stop flowing. Why did he know? No one except his friends knew about his painful quest. No one else...

"Who are you?" He voiced out his suspicion.

"You're not supposed to ask me."

"But I know you will answer. Who are you? Why do you know me?"

The man laughed again. "So impatient, aren't you. Fine. I'm Reficul."

"Why do you know me?"

"I want to help you. That's all what you need to know."

"Help me? What for? I don't need anyone to help me."

"Are you certain you don't need help in your revenge?"

"This is my own problem. No one else has the right to interfere." Kurapika said bitterly.

"So stubborn. But you'll soon see you'll get much with this. But first, answer me. Who is your enemy?"

"It's not my duty to answer you."

"Then should I read your thoughts?"

Kurapika frowned, but he replied reluctantly, unwilling to have anyone walk into his mind. "Genei Ryodan and..."

"...Kuroro Lucifer."

The name was said through clenched teeth. It still didn't die, the longing that burnt in his chest every time that name was mentioned. How he loathed himself for it, but still all he could do was just trying to suppress his feelings.

"So, are you confident that you can eliminate the Genei Ryodan?"

"What does it have to do with anything?"

"You know your skills aren't strong enough yet." Reficul ignored him.

"Quit reading my mind!" Anger seeped into his voice.

"Let me help you. I'll make you the strongest. And then revenge will just be as easy as a child game."

This new turn of event surprised him. Kurapika stared at the man, then asked slowly. "And what do you want from me in return?"

"Nothing."

"It's simply 'help'?"

"Yes."

"You won't regret?"

"I won't"

"I'll be strong enough to kill all of them?"

"Yes."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

The man chuckled. "I know you would ask that question." He continued after a short silence. "In this world, there're many people who seek to be a hunter, but only a few of them succeeded. They're thought to be all strong fighters. But even so, their strengths are still very limited. After all, they're just human. But people with special ability or body can push their nen nearly to the limit, which makes them extremely powerful. But the strong is usually the ambitious. Many years ago, a group of that kind of people formed. They joined force with the strongest crime organization in those years and attacked the Hunter Association, claiming that once the Association fall, no one would be able to stop them from conquering the world. Their destructive power could not be match, and they caused havoc everywhere they go. The gifted fighters and the strongest criminals called themselves 'Night Hunters'. It was a dark time for everyone. Almost all members of the Hunter Association had died, and so did many of the hunters that fought for them. Everyone felt the end had drawn near. However, in a night, all the Night Hunter disappeared."

"You know what happened?" Kurapika asked, a little more interested now. He had read about the Night Hunters in a history book before.

"The truth was hidden from the eyes of people. Only few remaining members of the Hunter Association knew what had happened. In that night, one of them had used an ancient source of power, which was called 'Idelian'. They succeeded, but all were terrified by what 'Idelian' could do. They realized 'Idelian' was not something that should fall into the hands of human. In the end, they reached a decision that they would seal 'Idelian' forever. The reason the Night Hunter disappeared was the topic of discussion and rumors for a long time. But more than 300 years had passed, finally everything fade from the mind of people... The legend of Idelian... the story of the Night Hunter... and the fate of Roy, the hunter that held responsibility for protecting Idelian. What Idelian did in that night was forever a mystery. But there was one thing for certain. It is a dangerous and extremely powerful artifact."

"If it's such a secret why do you know it?'

"I have my source of information."

"So what's Idelian's role in my revenge?"

"It has no role at all"

"Are you crazy? Then why did you tell me all that crap?"

"It's the 'Night Hunter' that I want to tell you."

"Huh?"

"The strongest fighter among the 'Night Hunter' was a member of the Kuruta tribe."

"What? It cannot be. I've never heard about anything like that! Oh..." Kurapika fall silence. Could it be that person? He had heard the elders talked about a traitor, a black sheep of the tribe.

"I'm telling the truth. And I also know that you inherit that person's power. You have the potential to be the greatest Hunter in his story, and I could help you to wake up that ability."

"... What a joke!" Kurapika murmured and walked away.

"I take it that you refuse my help?"

Kurapika stopped for a moment, but didn't turn back. "I don't consider revenge a child game. And I don't need help from people that I don't trust."

"What an insolent brat." Reficul's voice wasn't angry, but amused. "However, I will help you no matter if you agree or not."

"You--" Kurapika swirled around angrily. He blinked. Reficul had disappeared from sight...

... and reappeared right behind him. He had no time to react, immediately being held immobile by a strong arm. Reficul turned his head to his side. His eyes widened as he felt the other's mouth on his, and a second after, a sour fluid flowed into his mouth. He struggled, but his strength was no match for the man. Panic, he used nen, finally broke out of Reficul's hold and crashed to the ground.

Kurapika coughed violently, both hands pressing on his throat. He tried to spit out the sour fluid, but he had already swallowed some of it.

When he looked up, Reficul had gone.

"What did you make me drink?" He screamed.

"Just a medicine that would help to awaken your sleeping ability." He heard a calm answer.

"I don't believe you!"

This time, the reply was a hollow laughter which became fainter and fainter as if its owner was going far way. Reficul had left, leaving Kurapika alone in the forest, cursing himself for having decided to come here alone.

Kurapika wiped his mouth violently, disgusted with the fluid. Not only it tasted bad, it also smell horrible. He stood up, looking around. There was no use following Reficul. If that guy didn't want him to follow, he would never leave a trace behind. The fluid he had been made to drink made him worry, but Kurapika knew that if he went to a hospital, they could help him to get rid of it.

It was getting dark so he decided to come back. There was nothing left to do here.

"One who wants to find 'Idelian' must answer a question: 'What is the center of the world?'"

Kurapika quickly turned back and darted his eyes around. There was no sight of anyone. Staring at him were only dark leaves. It was strange, since the voice was not Reficul's.

"Who's there?" He yelled.

"The center of the world... hahaha..."

There was something dark and sick in that laugh. It made his skin crawl. Kurapika run to the direction that he thought the voice come from, but suddenly that voice erupted from behind.

"Think. Little boy, think... The center of the world... hahaha..."

The voice quickly became fainter and fainter and finally returned the forest to the only sound of the wind blowing through branches and leaves.

≈•≈

Kurapika stared at the round shape, shocked... Near Kuroro's hand was a small pendant. The metal surface was stained with blood, making it hard to see exactly what was carved on it. Yet he realized it was exactly the pattern he had seen on Reficul's one.

"He is... This is... Why does Kuroro have this?"

Kurapika picked the pendant up and examined it carefully. Reficul's pendant in his memory was larger, and brighter while Kuroro's looked smaller and had the color of rusted metal.

"It can't be him. It can't be... Must be accidental..."

But the thing Kuroi wanted them to get was also 'Idelian'. There was just too much coincidence for it to be just purely accidental. Kurapika shook his head lightly, clearing his thought. Even if it were a trap, there was nothing he could do except walking into it as Gon was still imprisoned by those people.

"The center of the world?" He whispered, remembering the voice from the past.

There were footsteps and voices outside. Kurapika startled; someone was coming this way. He couldn't stay here any longer.

Kurapika made a glance at Kuroro, murmuring something silently. His eyes had lost the crimson shade and returned to the usual gentle green. There was neither disgust nor fear in his look, only a hint of longing. Either in love or hatred, his fate was bound with this person. Maybe... Maybe... until he found 'the center of the world.'

Put the pendant into his clothes, Kurapika quickly stood up. If he couldn't break the bars, then the whole wall must be gone. He could do it, but only when Kuroro was unconscious and couldn't see what he would do. All his nen was focus on his two hands, which placed tightly on the wall, creating a massive source of power. After several second, there was a dry noise. The whole wall cracked, and finally crumbled.

The voices and footsteps outside were getting stronger as if people were rushing to the cell.

Looking back at the battered body, he whispered even though he didn't know whether Kuroro was dead or not. "See you later... At the center of the world..." Kurapika jumped over the pile of bricks and quickly escaped.

The unanswered question was still screaming in his head. Kurapika pressed a hand on his chest while didn't stop running. What should he do now? To betray his people, or to betray his heart?

Strangely, somehow he suddenly felt that he would find the answer when he reached that place. 'The center of the world'...

"Hahaha... What a good play!" Kuroi's voice echoed in the cell. His fat hands clasped together in fake admiration.

There was no answer. Kuroro was still lying immobile.

"You can stop acting now. The boy had gone, my dear Kuroro." Kuroi laughed.

The body covered in blood suddenly stirred. Kuroro sat up, looking perfectly calm and expressionless. He didn't seem to be in pain, even though blood was still oozing out from the wounds on his body and face.

"You act perfectly." Kuroi walked closer.

"Thanks." Kuroro replied coldly, using his hand to clean the blood on his face. He didn't succeed though, as his hands were also smeared with blood.

"That's typical of you. Always cold. But anyway, you've done a good job. Now find Idelian for me.

"Fine." Kuroro answered half-heartedly.

Kuroi clapped his hands three times. Somebody appeared behind him and stepped into the dim light of the cell. Kurapika?

Why was Kurapika here? Didn't he just leave? Why did he go with Kuroi? The expressionless facade was crumbled for a moment, replaced with surprise.

No, it wasn't Kurapika. The hair was dark, and the eyes were violet. But everything else, face, form, height... was alike. It wasn't Kurapika, but a perfect copy of the Hunter.

"What's this?" Kuroro asked skeptically.

"A present." Kuroi shrugged. "You can do whatever you want with him." He smirked lewdly. "It's an useful present, don't you think so? Call him Roy."

"You must be crazy." Kuroro shook his head and stood up. "But that's not important. You'll have what you want. And I'll take what I want from you."

"Fine. Now I must say goodbye. You see, I'm a busy person. Just do what you promised me, and in return, I won't forget what I promised you. Idelian is mine, and that person will be yours."

Kuroi left. In the cell remained only Kuroro and Roy.

"Kurapika, you still haven't found your answer." Kuroro sighed and whispered, then turned away, paying no attention to Roy.

"The center of the world is cemetery. There hatred will become love." A voice erupted faintly, almost like it came from inside his head.

Kuroro startled and turned back. There was no one except Roy.

"What did you just say?" He demanded.

There was no answer. Roy just smile, a strange and angelic smile.

**TBC...**


	5. The Guide

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 5: The Guide**

_Written by Saipan, Kal Kally, Kaito Kid._

≈•≈

In a faraway town, the sudden appearance of the mysterious man also made Hisoka and Illumi suspicious.

"Let's go!" The man said with raspy voice. He didn't wait for their answer, just turned and left. His clothes were old and torn in many places, making him look like a beggar rather than the guide Kuroi had arranged for them.

"What do you think, Hisoka?" Illumi asked.

Hisoka didn't replied. He leaned to the wall, watching the stranger through half-closed eyes while playing absent-mindedly with the Ace Diamond in his hand. Suddenly he laughed.

Illumi looked confused. He followed Hisoka's eyes to look at the man. "Oh... It seems he is..."

"Hmm? You also realize? Let's follow him."

"What about the job?"

"Just follow him for now, may be we will find the clue. Beside, we have much free time, don't we?"

"Fine, if that's what you want."

The mysterious man had gone far ahead. However, it seemed he didn't want to lose sight of Hisoka and Illumi, as he stopped every now and then, waiting them to follow.

Hisoka didn't pay any attention to that. With his hands on his hip, he walked leisurely, glancing around. The town street was crowded, on both side of the road were many colourful stores with a lot of strange items being sold. They were in a market.

Hisoka stopped by a small shop. He took a small bottle of expensive perfume. After shaking it, he opened it and brought it to his nose. Then he repeated that process again with another bottle, then another. The owner of the shop looked like he was going to faint, but once looking at Hisoka's face, he quickly decided that keeping silence would do much better for his health.

"What are you doing?" Illumi asked.

"She must like it very much."

"She? You mean the Ryodan girl who often sews your wound for unreasonable price?"

Hisoka just smiled in a very Hisoka-like way.

"I don't think there's anyone in Ryodan who likes to use perfume."

"But I like."

"Huh?" Illumi stared at Hisoka with an unreadable expression.

"I mean I like her to use perfume. This? No, this one is better." Hisoka said, shaking another bottle.

Illumi just shrugged and let Hisoka do whatever he wanted. The magician continued to choose perfume in his own way while the owner of the shop looked like he was about to cry. A boy ran towards them, and suddenly crashed into Hisoka. "Sorry!" The boy apologized and continued to run.

Illumi stretched his hand toward the boy, but his wrist was caught. He looked to his side questioningly. "Didn't the brat just steal your wallet?"

"It's okay."

"..."

"Beside there's no money in there anyway." Hisoka smiled mysteriously. "Let's go."

Illumi followed Hisoka. He was still confused, but didn't say anything.

≈•≈

After taking Hisoka's wallet, the boy opened it eagerly, but it was empty. He turned it around, wondering if it had two layers, but the wallet was indeed worthless. The boy angrily threw it into a trash bin and run into an alley.

He fell to the ground, colliding with someone. This time it was not acting like before.

"Damn! Are you blind--" His voice was caught in his throat when he stared up at the one he had just run into. He looked even weirder than the ones whom he had stolen the wallet from. This weird guy had red-brownish hair, which covered almost all the right side of his face. The other side was painted like a clown. It was the eyes of the man that silenced the poor boy. There was a sick and terrible cruelty that existed in there. It felt as if he was staring at a wild beast.

"Hm?" The man glanced at the boy and bent down to pick the empty wallet up, a faint glow surrounding his hand. After several seconds staring at the wallet, he dropped it and turned his attention to the boy.

The boy trembled. Around the man was a dark aura of murder and death. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it clearly. The boy was terrified. He wanted to scream, but all that got past his mouth was just whimpers. The threatening air gave birth to the intense fear invading his mind. He crawled back until his back hit the wall, but the man was still walking closer.

If only he could close his eyes, but for some reason, his body wouldn't obey him and he kept staring at the man in terror. The man bent down, the clown face was right above his. Those thin lips opened, revealing sharp fangs and the crimson eyes stared at the boy's, stealing all thoughts.

Suddenly the weird guy roared. The boy startled and screamed. He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The man laughed. He ran up the wall to the top of the near by building and then disappeared from sight.

≈•≈

The evening that day was gloomy. The road that connected the town and the pine forest was almost empty if not for the three people that were walking slowly on it. One man wore dark, long robe. One was tall, wearing clown clothes and having his face painted. One looked pale and expressionless, almost like a China doll.

Hisoka whistled and stopped. The mysterious man stopped too, as he didn't hear the magician's footsteps. He looked back at the two hunters questioningly.

"Let's begin."

"..."

"Don't understand? So let me enlighten you. In general, nen is divided into six main category, but base on that each individual has his own ability. There're weird people who have the ability to absorb others' nen in order to become more powerful and extend their life spans. Few see them and still survive. People call them 'sicko'.

"Knowledgeable, aren't you? But people don't call them 'sicko'. They call them the 'drainers'." The mysterious man sneered.

"It's just the same." Hisoka smirked, a murderous atmosphere formed around him. However, the gleam in his eyes was more like playful than threatening.

"When did you realize?" The man asked.

"In the town."

"Hehheh, good! Today I'm lucky, suddenly find three good preys!" Once finished his sentence, the drainer disappeared. His robe fell down as if it had never been worn on anyone.

"I don't play. You sure have much spare time for useless thing." Illumi stepped back.

"It's your choice. Oh, but did you hear it? He said 'three preys'. It seems our guess is right."

"Maybe."

Hisoka staggered unexpectedly, a long cut appeared on his face. He didn't see anything strange, but his instinct told him that something was spinning towards him with incredible speed. He moved a step to his side, still he felt something sharp on his skin. Blood gushed out from the gash on his neck. Hisoka quickly pressed one hand on the wound to stop the blood, the other hand sliced backwards with a card. However, the card only met empty air.

"Did you see him, Illumi?"

"Don't see, and don't sense him either." Illumi replied.

"Heh Heh. Aren't you afraid yet? The game has only started." The raspy voice erupted from their left.

A card was instantly thrown in that direction. There was a loud noise when the card plunged into the ground, creating a massive explosion. However there was no sign that the card had hit the drainer.

Hisoka pulled out the whole deck, divided it into two halves. Each half was spread on each hand like two fans. The cards glowed brightly red as if it was going to burn everything into ashes. Immediately Illumi jumped back a few steps. He started digging with his hands and after a few seconds disappeared into the ground.

It was just in time, as the cards were thrown into all directions. The ground trembled with explosions and the whole forest writhed in an earthquake. Dust and small pieces of broken stones were everywhere, clouding the sight. It took a long time for everything to quiet down, yet in the air tiny spheres of light and jets of electricity still remained.

Hisoka stood motionlessly, one hand covered his face.

"Hohoho, such an useless thing you've done!" The raspy voice erupted.

The arrogance in the voice quickly disappeared. The air soon became heavy with an aura of murder and threat. It took him a few second to realize that Hisoka was glaring at him intensely through his fingers. The drainer moved continuously, but the stare in those eyes still stayed the same.

'His pupils doesn't change, which means that he can't see me.' The drainer thought.

Suddenly Hisoka ran to his direction. The drainer quickly dodged. 'Just pure luck.' He told himself, and taunted. "Your speed might be great, but it's useless if you can't see me!"

However, when he looked back, Hisoka was nowhere to be seen. He had no time to feel surprise as a painted face appeared right in front of his with a smile that would make anyone terrified. The noise of bone cracking filled the air. Time stopped for a moment as Hisoka's hand sank deep into the drainer's chest. Hisoka pulled his hand back. Blood spurted out from the drainer's mouth and the gaping wound on his chest. He collapsed.

"H... How...?" He gasped out.

Hisoka just smiled mockingly. "You have really mastered your stealth. Not to mention the nen skin that could change color to that of the surrounding. It's not easy for anyone to see you even if you stand right beside them."

"But he was unlucky." Illumi got back to the surface.

"Look at your own body." Hisoka continued. He took out a cloth from nowhere and cleaned off the blood on his hand. The crumbled body on the ground was glowing a strange green light.

"Then you own me one, Hisoka." A voice came from the only tree that remained standing after Hisoka's massive attack earlier. A man jumped down, arms stretch to both side, turning a somersault in mid-air before landing as skilfully as an acrobat. The same green light covered his body.

"Oh. Illumi is here too!" He exclaimed.

"Kanfu." Illumi acknowledged him.

The one whom Illumi had just called Kanfu was a weird guy. He had red-brownish hair, which covered half of his face. The other half was painted like a clown. He was the one who had scared the boy in the town.

The drainer stared at Kanfu, horrified. "How...! I killed you!"

"Heh. Earlier I just faked it. You just drain a tiny bit of my nen, how can I die from that?"

"That... impossible..."

"He's also of the 'sicko' type like you. Understand now?"

"Hey, don't call me 'sicko', Hisoka." Kanfu complained.

"His nen gave him an unique ability." Illumi said. "His nen will glow if encounter others' nen. The more powerful the hostile nen is, the brighter the light will become."

"Now see why your body glows?" Hisoka smiled mockingly and finished the fallen drainer with one of his cards.

"How did you know I was there?" Kanfu asked.

"I didn't know it was you. This morning looking at the way he pulled out my card from the wall, I had guessed he was one of your type. Later, his fingers glowed faintly so I guess there must be someone who possessed the same nen type as his around." Hisoka answered.

"Hm... I knew I wouldn't be able to hide from you."

"Stop waste time with the details. Why are you here? Kuroi said he would send us a guide, but aren't we supposed to meet only after the others have found the clue?"

The smile on Kanfu's lips faded. His eyes sharpened and an offensive aura surrounded him. "It doesn't need to be that long. I'm here because it's now time for you to die." His nen focused on his hand and a light sword appeared.

Kanfu attacked. Hisoka dodged and jumped back. He didn't seem to be interested. But this time, it was Illumi who answered the challenge. In his eyes, something suspiciously like joy flickered, though only for a second.

A needle was thrown at Kanfu's direction. He used his light sword to block it, but the force was so great that it broke the sword and the needle left a long gash on his side. Kanfu only glanced at the broken sword once before instantly repaired it with his nen. Illumi threw more needles at Kanfu. This time they were hit by the sword and either fell to the ground or bounced back. One flew towards Hisoka. The magician dropped the card he was holding and easily evaded. His eyes were fixed on Illumi, disapproval shown clearly on his face.

Catching a needle with his bare hand, Kanfu flung it back at Illumi. It missed as the assassin slightly moved to his side.

The fight went on for a while. Kanfu couldn't do much with his nen sword as since the beginning of the battle, Illumi always kept a safe distance from him, preventing him to use his special ability while allowed the assassin to continuously attack with his needles. At the moment, Kanfu was just dodging around, thinking of a smart strategy.

A thought formed in his head. It was the same thing he had thought of before, but then he had dismissed it immediately as the plan he had made up had not much chance of success. This time, Kuroi decided to try it. Even if it wouldn't success, it would still help him in to find his opponent's weakness. Another needle flew towards him. Kuroi caught it and threw at Hisoka's direction.

The impossibility happened. Unexpectedly Illumi's eyes followed the needle and he glanced at Hisoka.

It was only a second, but a second was all what Kuroi needed. He quickly closed the distance between him and the assassin. Hisoka just needed to move his right and the needle missed. However when Illumi turn his attention back to the fight, it was too late for him to recreate the safe distance.

Two needles both missed Kanfu. Before Illumi could throw another, his wrist was seized in an iron grip. He tried to break out of the hold, but suddenly screamed in pain.

"Too bad. The more nen you use, the more profit I gain." Kuroi laughed in triumph.

Not very far from the two fighters, Hisoka was standing with his arm folded. He just watched the fight in silence, but the playfulness in his eyes had completely changed into anger.

≈•≈

After he left his cell, Kurapika soon discovered that he had been imprisoned in an old mansion on the outskirt of York Shin city. He considered finding Leorio and Killua, but he quickly gave up that thought. It was getting dark, and he was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Beside no matter what he did, he would never be able to return to their gathering in just a night.

So the blond decided to stay at York Shin for the night. He rented a room at a cheap hotel, trying to catch as little attention as possible. Since his escape, he kept feeling that he was being tightly watched. Kurapika trusted his sense. He had some idea who those people were, but he didn't show any sign that he was suspicious. Right now he was in the light and those people were in darkness. It was best to dance to their tune now while silently wait for a chance to counter attack.

Once safe in his room, the first thing Kurapika did was to close all the curtains and cheeked the room for any spying device. He had chosen a random hotel, but still the more careful he was, the less he was controlled by those people.

Kurapika hadn't had anything since the morning, but he didn't feel hungry. Dropping himself on the bed, he closed his eyes and started to think of a plan to do tomorrow.

He doubted that his companion was still staying at the gathering. His escape had been so easy that he couldn't help feeling suspicious. It was almost as if he was arranged to escape. His captors would surely considered the chance that he might return to the house to find the other after his escape. But there must be a reason why the group was separated, so his companions might have been put into the same situation as him. Even if that weren't the case, after a day, Leorio and Killua would have left the gathering to search for him.

It was pointless to go back, but what about Leorio and Killua? Kurapika sat up and rested his forehead on knitted fingers. He couldn't just leave them, but the world was wide and he had no idea where they were taken.

His eyes fell on the medallion on the nightstand. Kurapika frowned and reached out for it. He shuddered when his fingers touched the stain of dry blood on its surface. Kuroro was still alive. When the flame had subsided, the hunter realized that even in his anger he had failed to cause Kuroro any fatal wounds. Should he be glad for that, or should he curse himself for his weakness?

Kurapika lifted the medallion up, his fingers pressed on the carved patterns. Finally being able to survey it closely he finally understood why the medallion caught his attention both times he saw it.

In the center of the medal, there was the image of the sun. There was a small line of words carved at the bottom. And Kurapika was sure that the line was written in the ancient language of the Kuruta's clan. He had seen those characters before on the cover of several hand-written books in the common library of his hometown. Once he had asked the librarian about it, and was answered that those books were written by the clan's ancestors centuries ago.

There were footsteps outside. Kurapika startled, nearly dropped the medallion, but it was just another guest passing by his room. He put it back on the nightstand. In his town, only the elders could read this language. Now all who knew the language were dead, and all the books had turned into ashes in the cruel flame.

Still the medallion was now the only clue he had. Tomorrow he would go to a city far away from York Shin where the world-largest library located. The hunter card would help him to gain access to even the most restricted area. If he was lucky, he might be able to find away to translate that sentence.

≈•≈

"Dammit!" Leorio slammed his fist to the wall. Anger, frustration, worry, helplessness... the tumultuous emotions were pulling him into all directions. It felt as if he could burst at any moment, strangled by his own feeling.

It had already been a day, and they were still stuck at this place. The two hunters had tried to find their companions, but after they had left the house for several hours, they soon found out that they were surrounded by a thick invisible wall. Killua quickly realized that the wall was made of nen, and it was so thick that even when he used all his strength he couldn't break it.

They had walked along the side of the nen wall, trying to find a way to get pass it, but reality soon kicked dust to their faces as they found themselves return to their starting point. The nen wall formed a perfect nen cage, trapping them inside it.

Tired, angry and frustrated, the two hunters returned to the wooden house. Haunted by worry for their friends, they would have spent all time trying to break through the nen wall. However, it was getting dark, and Killua suggested that everyone might have already returned to the house.

But the house was as empty as it had been when they left.

Although Leorio knew that hours of pacing around wouldn't do any good, so did hitting furiously at the poor wall, he couldn't help finding a way to release his frustration. It didn't help much though. He hit the wall again.

"Stop making so much noise!" Killua's voice abruptly erupted from the room next door. The wall that suffered Leorio's anger was unfortunately the separation between the two rooms.

Didn't bother to answer, Leorio just hit the wall harder.

"Rather than wasting your time with stupid things, come here! Look at what I find!"

"What?"

"Just come here!"

Leorio thought of ignoring the boy, but his curiosity won over. He reluctantly walked to the room Killua was in.

"It's no use." Leorio snapped, irritated as he saw Killua sitting before a laptop. Around him, a lot of strange round metal devices were scattering. "I've tried it before. You can't connect to the outside, so it's no use trying to find help."

"Who said I'm going to find help?" Killua retorted. "I just want you to see this."

"What?"

"Sit down."

"But what is it?"

"Just sit down."

Even more reluctantly than before, Leorio put some of the round devices aside and sat down near Killua. "So what the hell is it?"

Killua quickly placed the pointer above an icon with the image of a burning flame. "Look."

"ESAB." Leorio read the name of the program. "I never heard such a strange name."

The young assassin double clicked on the icon. A dialog box appeared, asking them to choose the resolution. Killua choose Full Screen Mode, and the program opened.

Leorio stared at the black screen, wondering what was so special about this program. Surely there were a menu at the top, and a toolbar at the left side, but the rest of the window was black. "I don't see anything special." He commented.

"Not yet." Killua clicked on a button on the toolbar. It took several minutes for the progress bar to finish, but then a graph with x, y, z coordinates appeared at the center of the screen. On the graph, Leorio saw several bright green lines that formed something suspiciously like the shape of a house.

"... Is it..."

"Yes. ESAB turns out to be Energy Structure Analyzer and Builder. It took a while for me to realize that the green lines are in fact the electricity lines in this house. The large green shape, which is brighter, seems to be the generator. It is under this house... if this structure is correct. But the most interesting thing is this..."

Killua zoomed in, and they saw clearly 2 large red dots that formed the shape of two people sitting, one shot, and one tall.

"Those dots are we!" Leorio cried.

"Right. It's because each body is a source of life energy."

"Then?"

"Now look at this" Killua said and held up a finger in front of Leorio's eyes. "What do you see?"

"Your finger."

"No, above it."

"Your face."

"Oh dear..." Killua groaned, but then he sighed. "It's alright. I forgot that you've never been trained in this area." He used his other hand to click on another button and gestured Leorio to look at the screen.

On the tip of the finger of the shorter red human shape was the word 'Idiot'.

Leorio was too shock that he completely forgot to get angry at the offence.

Killua destroyed the word, then said smugly. "See. It took a lot of time to discover this, but at least I didn't just run around doing useless things like you."

"Then?" Leorio raised his voice after a short silence. "I don't deny that it's cool. But then? It doesn't help us to get out of here!"

Killua's face fell. "You're so slow. Look, this program can create the structure of energy source, right?"

"So?"

"And nen after all is just a kind of energy, right?"

"So?"

"And the wall that imprisons us is made of nen, right?"

"So?... Oh!" Leorio cried. "If we can create a structure of it, we may find a crack, or a hole, or at least a weak point of it!"

"See. That's why I said you're so slow."

Ignoring Killua's comment, Leorio just took the mouse from Killua's hand. "Then what're you waiting for? Do it!"

Killua shook his head. "There's a problem."

"What?"

"The radius of this program is only 2 km, and the distance from this house to the nen wall is at least three times much more."

"What's the hell?"

"Well, let read help. May be there's a way to increase the range of effect." Killua shrug.

They read the help together. It turned out that the program alone couldn't build or analyze any energy source. The round devices on the floor were parts of it. The devices will send electric waves to its surrounding within a radius of 1 km. If there were any source of power within that radius, the device would analyze it and send signals back to the receiver which was connected to the computer. The receiver was the high round pole on the roof of the house. Based on those signals, the program would show the shape of the energy source. It could also show the energy source's level of power."

"The receiver has a much larger range." Leorio commented.

Killua nodded. "We may have good information about the nen wall by placing these devices along it."

"Let do it!"

"... Tomorrow. It's too dark now. We have walked all days, so the nen wall must be really large. I'm afraid we won't have enough devices. It's better if we place them carefully, and I don't want to take the risk of misplacing them in darkness."

"..." Leorio wanted to say something, but then he decided against it, knowing that Killua was not wrong.

Still that night was the longest night he could remember. Thoughts of Kurapika kept returning, and he ended up staying awake the whole night, trying to suppress his worry.

≈•≈

The room they rented had only one double bed.

Roy didn't seem to belong to the shy type. He dropped his tunic and carefully placed it on the end of the bed.

... And then he took off his shirt...

Kuroro turned his head away, then scowled himself for it. The leader of the Genei Ryodan would not be embarrassed because of such a thing. Even if the temperature of the room seemed to rise a little bit...

Kuroro glanced at the bed where Roy had dropped himself on it, didn't even bother to pull up the blanket. He quickly diverted his eyes.

..but in front of him was that face... that form... the lips that he longed to kiss... the skin that he longed to caress...

"Don't just stand at the door. Go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow." Roy called.

Even their voices were alike... The voice that Kuroro want to hear calling his name in the depth of passion.

He stepped to the bed like in a trance and stopped at its side. He bent down, his shadow looming over the smaller body. Roy just looked at him, smiling somewhat seductively. Kuroro found himself lost in those eyes. Even though the color was different, their eyes were still very alike. In the light of the lamp beside, he could see his reflection in those depths.

His reflection...

On a sea of violet...

Kuroro jolted back, his eyes widen for a second, and then narrowed. He grabbed the blanket and headed straight to the balcony.

"What does that mean?" Roy asked, his voice full of surprise.

"It means that you people underestimate me." Kuroro said coldly, before walked out of the room.

It was fine sleeping in the open air. Kuroro didn't want to be in that room for any other second. His desire was still there, but at the same time he felt something else. Disgust. It was what he wanted, but at the same time, was not.

Fate was strange, as suddenly Roy made him understand that he wanted Kurapika, but not just his body. He wanted to possess everything about the blond, even his soul, even his heart. No, not possession, but to have Kurapika just as free as he was now... to bind Kurapika to him with something else, anything different from force and domination.

The whole reason why Kuroro agreed on this quest in a second had lost it charm.

Somehow he felt that a bird in cage, a bird that lost the ability to fly was not the bird he desired anymore.

It was such an unfamiliar sensation... a feeling he had never once experienced in his life...

**Chapter 5 End.**

**TBC...**


	6. Keyword

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 6: Keyword**  
_Written by Kaito Kid and Kal Kally_

"The game progresses perfectly." Kuroi quirked his lips up into a sly smile, the deceitful eyes pasting to the computer screen.

"Will group 4 complete their mission?"

On the window was a man sitting with his back to the screen. His gray hair and commanding tone gave the impression of an experienced and powerful person.

"Even if they won't, that's fine."

"Don't be careless. After all what we have done, we can't fail now."

"I've prepared for all circumstances. If they manage to break the walls, they might be useful to us. Otherwise, the hostage role may have to switch. Anyway, once this game has started nothing can stop it now."

Kuroi laughed, satisfied with his perfect plan. However, imperfection lies in even the most faultless thing, and he had forgotten that most important principle.

≈•≈

On the outskirt of the town, Illumi had managed to escape from Kanfu's hold, but he had been weakened to the point that he couldn't summon a large number of needles at the same time anymore.

Breathing heavily, Illumi threw another needle, however there was not much force behind it. He was wounded in many places, either being slashed by the nen sword or burnt by its heat. The fight didn't last much longer. Illumi was not as agile as before and he wasn't fast enough to dodge when Kanfu suddenly attacked. The sword sank deep into his shoulder. He coughed up blood and collapsed as Kanfu pulled it out. Illumi didn't move after that.

The drainer turned to Hisoka. "Now it's your turn."

Hisoka just glanced once at the battered body on the ground. "But you're the guide, aren't you?"

"Just consider this a test."

"So be it."

Another fight started. This time it didn't last long. Illumi's nen had made Kanfu become much stronger and he could easily destroy every of Hisoka cards. On the other hand, Hisoka soon become weaker, being drained slowly. The end of the fight was obvious. Before darkness claimed him, Illumi could still see Kuroi making the finishing blow and Hisoka's body crashing to the ground.

≈•≈

The restricted area of the library was as empty as usual. The long rows of reading tables were all vacant except for one person sitting at the corner. A pile of books lay in front of him, and he looked like he was lost in the open book he was reading. It was too quiet. The screeching noise of pen on paper and the rustling sounds of turning pages weren't strong enough to lift up the heavy atmosphere caused by the silence. There were no windows; with nowhere to go, the lingering smells of dust, mahogany wood, and old papers were trapped in the room, making the air become even more suffocating.

Kurapika startled, the pen he was holding slipped out of his grasp. It rolled on the table and fell down to the floor, creating a loud noise. The blond stared at the open notebook where two lines were written almost carefully, each consisted of only one word: Lucifer.

"What am I doing...?" He whispered, feeling sick. Being too caught up in the book, he had written those lines without knowing. He tore out that page, crumpled it and threw it hastily into the nearby trash bin as if he had just touched something terrible.

Kurapika sighed, resting his forehead on knitted fingers. Why did he miss that person so much? His traitor heart...The flame of hatred always burnt so brightly every time he was near that person. Yet the dark, icy water of longing flowed into every corner of his mind every time they were separated.

What was it... the emotion that hurt human so easily...?

It took him a while to find his pen. It turned out that the pen had rolled up to the next row of tables. He picked it up and forced himself to return to the book.

Time flied quickly. In the end, Kurapika groaned, slumping onto the table. He felt like giving up. He was developing a headache after a whole day sticking to this huge pile of books. He had been correct. The national library did keep a lot of hand-written books in the Kuruta's ancient language. There was even a collection of recorded research documents on this language; all of them were done by a hunter who devoted his life to the restoration of lost languages and cultures.

But hell, the letters were very small, and the pages were so old that in some places the ink was lost and couldn't be read. After a day trying to read what was craved on the pendant, he became very tired. Kurapika rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to return to his research once more. He made little progress. Even with the help of the books and the language research, he only managed to make a horrible translation.

'Center Earth. Ets. God. Magnificent. Ets. Location. Failure. Destruction. some words that couldn't be looked up. Determination. Strength. Will. Ets. Fame. some words that couldn't be looked up.'

Kurapika 's mood sank lower as he continued to stare at the notebook. This translation would do no good.

He sighed and reluctantly went through it again. "Magnificent God?" The blond murmured. Could it be Idelian? It might be, it might be not. He didn't even know if this pendant had any relation to Idelian.

'What is the center of the world?'

A voice echoed from the past. For a moment, a shiver ran down his spine as memories of a certain person flashed back.

"It definitely is!" Kurapika said to himself more determinedly.

"Location... then this might be a hint of Idelian's place." He thought and scribbled something on the next page of his notebook. "It might be like this."

'The Magnificent God locates at the Center of the Earth."

The rest of the translation was too vague. Kurapika frowned as he looked at the newly translated line. The hint was too vague too. There was nothing such as Center Earth, and even if there were, it could be everywhere.

"Excuse me. This area is closed at 10:00PM." A young woman wearing the library's uniform said from behind him, interrupting Kurapika's thought.

"Huh? Ah, I'm sorry." Kurapika quickly apologized.

"Tomorrow, it will be reopened at 6 o'clock. Please return at that time."

"Thank you." Kurapika replied. He put away his notebook, and along with the librarian, placed the books back to their shelves. He would return to the library tomorrow to try to get a better translation.

Once stepped out of the library, Kurapika stopped and gazed up at the sky. It was a starry night, and the moon shined softly like a boat drifting on a twinkling sea. A little sadness seeped into his mood. Just a few days before they were all together, but now...

Where were his companions? Where were Gon, Killua, and Leorio...? Were they too looking up at the sparkling stars at this moment like him?

≈•≈

Turbid clouds made the night sky look gray. In daylight, this mountain was dreary in the overwhelming whiteness created by snow and cloudy sky. At night, the conflict of snowy white and the color of the dark sky didn't bring any liveliness to this land. Instead, it only made one shudder at the eternal sorrow spreading on the snow's surface.

The snow was deep, and each step took a lot of will. Yet Leorio forced himself to continue to walk, heading at the direction of the tiny light faraway. He was exhausted, cold and hungry, but he also knew that his fatigue meant nothing when Kurapika and Gon were still in danger.

Yesterday, they had made all preparation to put their plan into action. They spent the whole night in gathering all the round devices in the house to one place. To their surprise, the house was actually full of them. The two hunters guessed that amount might be enough to cover the nen wall's length. That thought lightened up their mood a little bit. It was decided that Killua would stay at home to check the program while Leorio would go placing the devices along the nen wall. The space between each device would be 7 or 8 minutes of walking, which was equivalent to around 1 km if Leorio moved with his normal speed. Leorio would prefer running, wanting to escape from the nen wall and start searching for Kurapika as soon as possible. However, as running was not the best choice on the snow-covered ground, in the end he decided against it. He knew that it would be much better if he just walked to preserve his strength.

The plan sounded simple, but the nen wall was so large that it cost them more than half a day to put all the round devices near it. When Leorio finished, there were only two left and he decided to bring them back to the house. He nearly screamed in joy when the house came into view. On its top, shining brightly was the flashlight that Killua had tied to the long pole so that Leorio could affirm the house's location at any moment.

The first thing Leorio did after reaching the house was rushing to the room with the laptop. "How was it?" He asked, putting the remaining devices on the floor and sat down beside Killua.

The boy looked tensed. "The situation isn't good."

"What?" Leorio stared at the screen, but except for the menu and toolbars, the screen was plain black. "It isn't working?"

"No, it works perfectly."

"I see only black."

"Because that's the inner area where the devices don't cover. Look at this." Killua clicked several times on the zoom out button.

"Damn!" Leorio swore once he looked at the newly appeared graph. "No wonder we can't connect to the outside!"

They had expected to see a round nen wall, but instead on the screen was a nen sphere. Between the house and the sphere's border there were several places where the nen sign didn't exist, but the two hunters knew that it was only because they didn't have enough devices to cover every inch on the ground.

"The nen wall exists even underground!" Leorio said in amazement. "This way even if we could dig into the ground we wouldn't be able to escape! It's one thing to build a nen wall in the air, but no matter how you think about it, it's impossible to build a nen wall underground. The resistance of the earth is just too great!"

"I know." Killua agreed. "But it does really exist. It's right before our eyes, isn't it? And even to the point that the walls above and under the ground are identical. Each is a perfect dome."

"Each?"

"That's right, when you zoom in to the maximum, you'll notice that at the ground, the two walls cross each other a little. So I guess that there must be two nen walls, one above, and one underground.

"Turn on the terrain map to see if this really is a sphere!" Leorio demanded.

"It's no use. The terrain map will only appear if you choose the angle to view the graph from inside the sphere. Electric waves couldn't get pass the nen barrier, so we don't have the terrain map outside. Moreover, this model isn't really completed, it's only built based on what the devices detect inside. Because of this we couldn't find out how thick, or how strong the nen walls are."

"To block all the electric waves, the nen walls must have been created by many people."

"However, if many people coordinated to create these nen walls, the power lever of them must differ at many places. Yet this nen sphere was just a perfect entity." Killua shook his head. "Who could have built something like this? No matter how you look at it, it is impossible. Even Kurapika with his 100 nen wouldn't be able to create them."

"Wait!" Leorio frowned as if he were trying to remember something. "What if they could push their nen to a limit larger than 100?"

"No. 100 is the limit for human. No one can surpass it."

"Do you know about the Night Hunters and their mysterious disappearance?"

"Of course I've heard about it. Oh..." Killua trailed off, realizing what Leorio meant.

"No one knew why they disappeared, but everyone knew that they were extremely powerful. For a long time they wretched havoc on the earth, town and city burnt into ashes wherever they went. Just one of them is enough to imprison us for our whole life."

"But 300 years has passed. They don't exist anymore!"

"Nothing is impossible." Leorio said. "I don't know why Kurapika suddenly got so worked up, but one month ago he had researched a lot about this legend. He told me there's a theory that those people may have had a perfect nen system where every nen type could easily reach 100 at any moment, and might even surpass that limit. Not a single person that possesses the same ability as them appears again, so no one can be sure. But in that theory, it's said that the perfect nen system might help them to slow down the aging process of the body to nearly zero, or even to the point that time would actually make them younger. It's hard to imagine how the world would become if suddenly they returned, but if the theory is true, nothing is impossible."

Killua turned back to the screen. What he saw wasn't the program window but his companion more than a year ago at Greed Island. "Then they may even appear at the form of teenagers." He murmured.

"Maybe."

"Then how the hell should we break this nen wall?"

"How can I know?"

No one said a word for several minutes. The spark of hope that had flickered up this morning suddenly died, leaving only disappointment and bitter helplessness.

Outside, a snowstorm was forming. The wind screamed and howled and scrapped at the house as if someone was continuously slamming at the windows and wooden walls. There was a fireplace, but only in the living room. This room had never been warm before, and now it was becoming more and more cold as some of the harsh wind had found its way inside through the small gaps on the windows. It snaked under the two hunters' thick coats, leaving its icy breath on their skins. However, the disappointment was so much that they didn't have the heart to move to the living room.

Killua lay down on his back, his head resting on his arms. "To tell the truth, I had hoped that these machines would help us to find a weakness on the nen wall. I might not be able to make a hold big enough for a person to get out, but I thought a hole big enough for the electric waves to get out was not impossible. And then I would call my family for help."

"Your family?" Leorio turned to him, surprised. The doctor knew how much Killua hated to rely on the Zoldirks.

Killua closed his eyes, a pain expression on his face. "For Gon I will do anything."

Leorio fell silence. He understood Killua's feeling, may be too much. After all, he was the same. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Kurapika.

The silence was mocking their own helplessness, but none of them knew what to say. Suddenly Killua jolted up. "My God! How could I forget!"

"What?"

"I think I find away to get out of here!"

Leorio blinked. "Really?"

"The nen walls must have been built following some base methods no matter how strong they are! I have never done it before, but I've heard about it. Wait a second!"

Killua left the room and brought back a pen and some paper. He sat down beside Leorio and started to explain.

"Only a materialization nen user can create a nen cage, but it's not something that all materialization nen users are capable of. First the nen level must be strong. Second, they must be able to use a difficult technique: creating a 'keyword'. The keyword can be any word or shape as long as the nen user doesn't forget it. It's usually the weakest part of the nen cage, but it exists to ensure the stability of the whole structure, and also to make sure that its creator can easily pass through its wall or destroy it by breaking the keyword or placing a similar keyword on the place of the original one."

The young assassin draw a large round shape and finally made a large dot in the middle.

"There're two ways to create a nen cage. The first is to put a keyword in one place. It can be put on any material at any size, any shape. Then the nen user transfers his nen into the keyword, which will then send that power to all directions to create the nen wall. It's the indirect way since it's the keyword that sends nen to its surrounding, not the nen user. What about the direct way? The nen user stands at the center of the soon to be cage. He will send his nen out to form the nen wall while bending it in any shape that he desires. Then in the end when the starting point of the nen structure meets the end, he makes a keyword to bind them together. The indirect way is more easy and convenient, as it doesn't require the nen user to use too much nen without break. However, it isn't flexible. Spheres and round walls are the only shapes it's capable of. Beside, it's easier to break a nen cage formed this way as one will easily find its weakness if they can find its center. The indirect way is more complex and requires more nen. But..." Killua placed then pen's tip on the border of the round. "Since the keyword can be at any place on the border, the larger the nen wall is, the harder it is to find the keyword."

"You mean that if we can find the keyword we can break the nen wall?"

"Exactly."

Killua returned his attention to the computer's screen and changed the angle so that they were viewing the graph from inside the sphere. "I've noticed this before, but I thought it was only a coincidence. Look! The house is right at the center of the sphere!" He turned to Leorio, his eyes bright with excitement. "And if we're lucky the keyword must be right in this house!"

Leorio sprang to his feet. "Then what're you waiting for? Let's search for it!"

Now when the two hunters knew what they needed, everything became much easier. It still cost them much time to find the keyword though. In the end, they find it inside the fireplace. It was lucky that they didn't lit up the fireplace that night or else they would never notice a faintly glowing pendant among the ashes.

"Could it be?" Leorio stared at the stainless piece of steel on Killua's hand.

"Most likely. Just take it to the computer and see if it carries the same color as the nen walls. If it is then yes, we find it."

They brought the pendant to the computer. The sign of the pendant on the screen was a tiny red spot.

"Now we only need to destroy this." Killua smiled for the first time since yesterday.

"Give me!" Leorio yanked the pendant out of Killua's hand and swung his arm to throw it at the wall.

"Wait!" Killua cried, stretching out a hand to stop his friend, but he was too late. The pendant hit the wall hard and immediately shattered.

Everything happened too fast and too suddenly. Killua was vaguely aware that they were attacked but he didn't know who, or what hit them. The world turned dark before he had enough time to scream. The only impression left on his mind was the agony burning through his body and searing all his thoughts.

≈•≈

The commercial streets were always crowded with people. They were the life force, the soul of this small town, as almost all the large shops gathered here, pulling with them tourists and merchants from other regions. However, today everywhere was all empty and quiet. The Reaper had just passed through these streets, leaving his traces on the bloody walls, on the painfully distorted faces, on the burnt limps and deformed corpses scattering around. Death was still lingering in the smoky air, strengthened by poisonous gas. This scene was like Satan's magnificent artwork.

At the same moment that Kuroro's hand left his opponent's crushed neck, another man charged from his left, a sword aiming at his side. Kuroro slightly turned his body, jumped back and the sword missed. The man tried to pull the sword back to defense himself but it was too late, his wrist had already been caught in an iron grip. Taking advantage of his opponent's own force and speed, Kuroro flung him to the wall across the street. The man crashed into the last remaining woman in his group who was unable to dodge as one of her leg had been cut off. Their heads collided and both shattered completely.

The noise of battle quickly died down. Kuroro glanced at the body near his feet. The watch on its wrist showed that it was 11:32 AM. He started to feel irritated. It had already been 30 minutes.

This morning he was attacked on his way by a group of warriors. Though they claimed to be Black Hunters they were ridiculously weak. The strongest member of the group used poison as his weapon. The cloud of poison he released had killed almost all habitants in this area of the town. It was unlucky for them though as his poison was ineffective against Kuroro, he didn't even have to use the techniques in his book. However the fight lasted longer than it should be as he was distracted by his own thoughts; all drifted back to a single person.

It had already been the second day after they were separated. Kurapika and his two friends had been broken apart as their roles in this quest were different. The blond must be deeply worried by now. For some unknown reason just the thought that Kurapika might be unhappy made Kuroro irritated.

Kuroro shook his head to clear his thought. Right now there was something far more important. He had been too absent-minded and might have left traces behind when he came to this town. Now that they were detected, they probably wouldn't be able to stay here anymore. With that thought in mind, he headed back to his hotel.

Even when he left the area where the fight took place, its consequences were still clearly shown. Though the cloud of poison didn't spread to the far away streets, all windows and doors were shut and the roads were empty. The screams and noises had scared the townies for now, but Kuroro knew that once the battle ended, soon this town would be drowned in chaos as people would rush to the scene to see what happened. Just as always... The cloud of poison was still there, and then more death... and even more chaos... That would be the best moment for them to leave the town.

No one saw him as he went back to his room. Even the hotel's reception area was empty as no one dared to risk their lives coming out of their hiding when it was still uncertain that there was no more danger.

In their room, Roy was half sitting on the windowsill, glancing down at the empty street.

"Finished?" The strange guy asked half-heartedly. He didn't even look once at Kuroro.

"You don't seem to be affected."

"Why must I? The leader of the Genei Ryodan is supposed to be capable of solving anything." Roy finally tore his eyes off the scene outside and looked at him.

"It's time to go." Kuroro said while stuffing a few set of normal clothes that he had prepared for disguise into his bags.

"The plan is that we'll wait here." It was not even an objection as Roy's voice was flat and emotionless.

"Then change it."

"Fine." Roy left the window and prepared his own luggage.

They left the hotel when it was getting dark. Just as Kuroro had predicted, the residents all rushed out of their houses, talking and trying to guess what had happened. The streets were crowded with people, either the townies or travelers and tourists who were terrified and trying to leave. No one paid attention to them and they managed to get out of the town unnoticed.

A new city, a new hotel, a new room... Nothing was different except that this time Kuroro took the control into his hand and chose the location by himself. He had carefully cleared all traces, and made sure that they weren't followed by anyone except Kuroi's men whom he had not yet seen.

Sitting on a stone bench in the large garden of the hotel, Kuroro tried arranging the tumultuous thoughts in his head. It had been a long time he hadn't felt like this. Completely directionless and unable to find a way to reach his destination... Hell, he wasn't even sure of his destination. The vague feeling haunting him had become clearer with time, and by now there was no suspicion left. What he desired wasn't just to possess Kurapika. He wanted to stay by the boy's side, wanted the boy to accept him. He wanted to be the person that would bring Kurapika's happiness, the person that would reflect in the boy's eyes when he smiled.

It was such an unfamiliar feeling, but he surprised himself when he realized how easily he accepted it. He didn't care about its reason. He didn't care about its meaning. He didn't want to know what that feeling was. Sometime a thought flickered through his mind, telling him that it might be love, however, whether that feeling was love or not wasn't important. Because in the end, it was what he wanted. And when Kuroro Lucifer wanted something, there would be nothing that could prevent him to get it.

In only a second, determination had formed. It created motivation, and now, the only thing left was to choose a plan.

Kuroro frowned. Even though he had made up his mind about what he must do, he still couldn't find out how to do it. The bloody past between him and Kurapika was an abyss that was impossible to cross by just force alone. Kuroro had accepted Kuroi's offer with the condition that Kuroi would tell him about his special ability, the ability that allowed him to control his opponent's thoughts and emotions. With that ability, Kuroro would be able to make Kurapika a toy in his collection in the most perfect manner. This time, Kuroi's ability no longer seemed to be so promising. Kuroro could still use that ability to seal up Kurapika's memory. However in this world there was no seal that couldn't be broken, and controlled emotions were no more than just artificial emotions. In that way, even if he could control Kurapika, what he had would only be a puppet.

This search suddenly lost its meaning. But a deal was still a deal. Kuroro would still follow it to its end, until they found Idelian.

Idelian...

Kuroro snapped his head up. The light of the end of the day was fading behind the trees in the garden. The night was coming, covering everything in its soft darkness, but inside Kuroro's mind, a bright light suddenly illuminated the plan that always seemed to be impossible to carry out.

Idelian, the tale of the power that surpassed the limit... the power that could reincarnate the death... the power that could turn back the wheel of time...

With Idelian's power, he could destroy that part of Kurapika's memory forever. Without that animosity, Kuroro didn't believe he couldn't win the boy's heart.

Almost all the hotel windows were bright with soft yellow light. Kuroro glanced at their room, one of the rare rooms that were still in darkness. He had rarely returned to his room today. Kuroro had a feeling that he was subconsciously avoiding Roy. His eyes sharpened at the thought of that person. After last night's incident, different from what he had thought, Roy didn't make any more attempts to seduce him. Instead, he always seemed to be indifferent and apathetic as if there was nothing in the whole world that could make him interested, much less Kuroro. It made no sense, as Kuroro had investigated a lot about Kuroi before accepting his offer. One of Kuroi's hobbies was to mess with the minds of his victim and morph them into people who only knew to listen to his order, hoping in vain that he would someday grant them their mediocre desires.

Kuroro was also surprised that he didn't detect Kuroi's men following them. When he asked to change the waiting location, Roy agreed without hesitance. It only meant one thing; Kuroi didn't have to keep watch on them, as someone here had already done it. Roy was taken to him as a puppet, but that puppet seemed to be in control of itself. Roy's role in this quest wasn't as simple as Kuroi had wanted him to believe.

He stood up and returned to their room. He had not yet known where Idelian located, but if he were not mistaken, the most completed clue was right before his eyes.

Instead of windows, one of the walls in the room was entirely made by glass, giving the guests a beautiful view of the city under. Roy sat on his bed in silence, staring out of the glass wall. He remained quiet even as Kuroro stepped into the room. Darkness embraced most places, but near the wall, from outside, a mesmerizing light crept in, falling on the bed like shimmering silk. The room they were staying in was on one of the top floors. Outside the glass wall, a broad and unending scene of various buildings' colorful lights stretched out like a sparkling ocean. From high above looking down, the lights were just like stars, the stars that lay alone or in groups, forming various shapes as if being arranged in the game of heaven's invisible forces.

A stab of longing pained his heart, though just for a moment. As beautiful as an artwork... If only before his eyes were another person... If only he could see this smooth and beautiful light caressing the soft blond hair...

"This view is so much like a sea of stars." Roy raised his voice without turning back. "The stars below, the stars of human's world are so bright, outshining even the light of the stars high above. In that star ocean, people's lives continue to flow in the irresistible circle of fate. Before Fate, what tiny, pitiful creatures we humans are"

"I never knew you're such a philosopher."

Roy chuckled, lightly as the wind, coldly as ice. "Tell me, Kuroro, do you believe in Fate?"

"..."

"Have you ever thought that there're people who are destined to meet each other? Have you ever thought that even you, even the powerful leader of the Genei Ryodan will one day be overcome by Fate?"

"People call what had already happened Fate. I only believe in the Future that is in my control."

The chuckle turned into high, sharp laugh. The laugh carried a sheer joy, the joy of someone who had been through hell and back. Roy suddenly stopped. He stood up and turned to Kuroro. Most of his face was hidden in the shadow but the violet eyes were still fierce and bright.

"So confident. That's what I like about you. You've just given me belief, Kuroro. In the end, Fate does really exist. And I fully intend to bend it in my way."

"..."

"Have you finished?" Kuroro said icily. He turned on the ceiling lamps. In the light, the fierce malice in Roy's eyes quickly disappeared. "You can stop this act now."

"What do you meant?"

"What's your role here? A spy or a guide? I guess it's a guide, since the only clue has been given to Kurapika, hasn't it?"

Roy stared at him, then he smiled and leaned his back to the glass wall, his arms folding at his chest. "That's another thing I like about you. I can never hide anything from you. You're right. I'm a guide. You don't need that clue, since I've already known the way to Idelian. I'm supposed to guide you there once the other groups get close to it."

"If you know the way then why must Kuroi hire us to search for it? And why were we separated? Isn't it easier if you just appear and take everyone to Idelian?"

Roy shook his head. "No, it's not that simple. Before we reach Idelian, we must open all the gates that lead to it first. That's what Kuroi needs us too do, and also the reason why you were separated."

"Then take me to Idelian."

"No. It's not the right time yet."

"I don't care. We'll go tomorrow's morning."

Roy glared at him, but remained silent.

**TBC…**


	7. Escape

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another language. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

**A/N: **Thank you very much for the reviews, they mean a lot to me.

≈•≈

**Chapter 7: Escape**

_Written by Kaito & Kal Kally_

Killua groaned and stirred. He pushed himself up and looked around. It was already morning. The snowstorm had ended but the sky outside the window was still dreary with heavy gray clouds.

"Am I alive?" Killua wondered, remembering the horrible pain earlier. But oddly enough, he wasn't in pain now and there wasn't any sign of wounds on his body. For a moment he thought that maybe it was just his nightmare, but seeing Leorio lying face down on the floor, he understood that the experience was real after all.

"Leorio." Killua poked at the doctor and received no reaction.

'Did he die?' He got panic and tossed the man onto his back. He sighed in relief when he fell Leorio's breath.

Killua went outside, took back a handful of snow and threw it at Leorio's face. Immediately Leorio jolted up, dashing his eyes around frantically. "What happened? Are we attacked?"

The man growled when finally noticing Killua's laughing face. "I told you not to do that. What happened?"

"It was your fault." Killua sighed and sat down in front of the laptop and pressed the power button. It had been turned off, may be because the strange energy earlier had messed up the electricity source.

"I didn't do anything!" Leorio protested.

"It's not that easy to break a 'keyword'. Especially the keyword of something that powerful. I guess that is the result of your carelessness. Oh!" He said in amazement as he looked at the computer's clock. "We've been out for just an hour. No wonder the sky is still that dark. It's not even the morning yet."

"Did we break the wall?" Leorio asked, moving closer.

"The program window opened, and disappointment hit them like a bucket of cold water. The nen wall underground had disappeared, but the nen wall above was still there unharmed.

"Didn't you say the sphere was created by two walls?" Leorio said. "There must be another keyword."

"Oh well." Killua's shoulders slumped. "Better find it now."

However, they searched for hours, but still couldn't find any sign of the other keyword.

"Just our luck." Killua groaned when they both gathered at the room with the computer, exhausted and frustrate. "The keyword must be on the sphere's border then. What should we do now? The wall is too large! We will never find it!"

"..."

"Let me think... the nen at the keyword will be weaker... if we can find it on the graph..."

"Then find it!"

"It's pointless. The graph can zoom into actual size. This huge sphere has the radius of 10 km. The perimeter will be about 60 km. It will take us days to view every part of the graph."

"Anything is better than nothing."

"Fine." Killua sighed and opened the program reluctantly. He created the graph, decided a pattern and put the camera on auto mode. Soon the camera slowly changed.

The two hunters' eyes were pasted on the screen at first, but as hours passed, they soon got tired and started to become distracted. Leorio found a book to read while Killua was just lying there, staring at the ceiling.

Only until now did they realize they were terribly hungry. It was the third day since they were separated. In those three days, so many things had happened, taking away their appetite. They decided that Killua would stay to watch the program while Leorio made something to eat.

However, there was no food in the house.

"I can't believe it!" Killua sweared when he heard Leorio's sinking news. "Now we don't even have much time left to inspect this damn sphere."

"We can still go hunting outside."

"Are you kidding? What can we probably find in this barren snow land?"

"..."

With nothing to do, they returned to their work, trying to forget their hunger. It was hard to concentrate on the unbearably monotonous movement of the camera, and soon, none of them paid attention to the screen anymore. Leorio returned to his book, while Killua drifted off.

It was late in the evening. Killua was shaken into awake. "What's the hell?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Turn the camera back a little!" Leorio screamed.

"Lower your voice! It hurts my head!"

"Just turn the camera back! I think I find the keyword!"

That woke the young assassin up completely. The boy scrambled to the laptop and stopped the auto mode. Then he turned the camera back slowly. Leorio hadn't been wrong, on the nen wall, there were many vague shapes with color lighter than their surrounding area. The shapes lined up and formed a long streak on the nen wall's surface.

"Is it the keyword?" Leorio wondered.

"I don't know. Let's go there to see. Come on." Killua stood up and walked to the door. "What are you doing?" He turned back and raised his voice as he spotted Leorio digging into the pile of stuff near the laptop.

"We need a flashlight. Yesterday it cost me more a lot of time to reach the nen wall. It's getting dark. Without a flashlight, how can we see anything?"

"... That's right. Then let's bring along this laptop too." Killua returned to the laptop and checked its remaining power. "You go taking the signal-receiver sphere on that pole down."

"Why?"

"To check the direction. And when we reach the nen wall, we still need something to tell us where the keyword is."

"OK."

They moved faster than usual, fueled by the past few days' frustration and the desire to get out of the nen cage as soon as possible. Yet they had to stop many times to turn on the laptop, checking if they were walking in the correct direction. When the two hunters reached the nen wall, the sun had already disappeared into the horizon. However, its fading glow still lingered on the western sky, casting a dim light on everything.

"Here? Or here?" Killua walked slowly along the invisible wall with small steps.

"To your left a little." Leorio watched the signal of Killua's energy while turning the flashlight to the direction of the light color strip on the screen. "There! Stop there."

"I'm going to do it." Killua said and focused his nen to his hands. "You prepare too. What we will face might be much serious than last time. Whatever happens, try your best to protect the laptop. If we lose it, we're done."

"OK. Now I'll direct the light on each group of signals. Start from the highest one." The light focused on a place above Killua's head.

Killua pushed nen to his hands little by little, starting to attack the place marked by the flashlight. He had prepared himself to face with a keyword so powerful that he would have to use up all his strength to break it. However, just when his nen met the invisible wall's surface, a strange letter flared up brightly in a second, then immediately disappeared.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

The two hunters were both surprised, as it was so easy that it seemed suspicious.

"..." Killua stared at the air where the letter had just appeared. "How can it be so easy..."

"..." Leorio said after a pause. "Then it's our luck. Let's continue."

"No..." Killua's eyebrows knitted together as he was lost in deep thoughts. After a moment, he ran back to Leorio, who was sitting on a rock with the laptop on his thighs. "Leorio, there's a problem."

"What?"

"It was too easy! Everything was too easy. A wonderful power supply in a house in the middle of nowhere. A laptop with ready-to-use program. The devices just enough to cover the nen cage's border... then the pendant right in the house! And now a keyword that is too easy to break!"

"Then the table just turns to our favor. What else?"

"No! Everything was too easy! If there were someone who wanted to imprison us, they would never put the keyword in a house right at the center of the cage. And we wouldn't be able to do a single thing if they just destroyed the power supply or the laptop! I think all of this has been arranged. We have been arranged to break this keyword!"

"But why? Imprison us in a cage only so that we'll break it. It just doesn't make sense!"

"Unless..."

"Unless?"

"Unless it's the key of the seal that is important."

Leorio startled, realization suddenly hit him. "The message on the pendant!"

"And the letter that has just appeared."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know. Where's the paper we used to cover the laptop? It's lucky that we do bring a pen along. Now remember to copy the letter while I try this again."

They returned to breaking the keyword. The strange letters appeared one by one; all were scribbled down on the piece of paper Leorio was holding. When the last letter was destroyed, Killua half expected to encounter what had happened in the wooden house, but there was nothing special except that a bright white aura started to glow around something on the ground at a remarkable distance to their left. The white light coalesced into a shimmering sphere and tore off into the sky. Leorio and Killua both ran to that place. The snow's surface had melted, revealing a broken pendant, which might have been buried under it earlier.

"What's this?" They looked at each other.

"There are three keywords? But I thought..." Killua frowned.

"Should we bring those pieces along?"

"That may be a goo—"

Killua froze, unable to finish his sentence. Beside him, horror was also painted clearly on Leorio's face. The pressure in the air suddenly rose, and soon became rocketing. The two hunters stared at each other, confused and panic. The impression of the horrible power and searing agony they had experienced earlier flashed back, creating terror in their hearts.

A scream. A scream so tortured that it seemed almost inhuman. Then silence. The pressure vanished. Around them, only the sounds of the wind crashing into pine trees remained.

Such a frightful silence...

"What... what was that?" Killua spoke, his voice trembling a little.

"...don't know..." Leorio replied, shaken.

"Quick! We must leave here immediately!" Killua hastily helped Leorio to collect all the pendant's broken pieces. "No! Don't put them there! Don't mix the two pendants together." He cried and stopped Leorio before the man could drop the pieces into his right pocket.

"Has the nen wall crumbled?" Leorio wondered.

"We will find out soon."

There were no obstacles on their way this time. The nen cage was indeed broken. The flashlight and laptop were both destroyed by the pressure, so Leorio and Killua just ran blindly forwards, fearing all the time that they might be lost and suddenly find themselves return to the very start. They could only sigh in relief when they got off the mountain.

Killua abruptly stopped.

"What's the matter?"

"It wasn't done by human."

"What do you mean?"

"That keyword wasn't created by nen."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know how I know. But the energy that my hands touch was certainly... nothing like human... I can't say it clearly, but it's just... just very strange..."

Leorio hit the boy's head lightly, and then pulled him away. "We escape from that place, don't we? Forget it. Let's find something to eat. I'm so hungry that I could eat a whole elephant."

The troubled look remained on the young assassin's face. He turned his head, looking back at the mountain with worried eyes.

≈•≈

The hidden face didn't allow Kuroi to see the gray-hair man's expression, but just from his voice, one could tell that he was pleased. "Group 4 has completed their first mission."

"Hex, what do you think about them?" Kuroi asked the other through the window screen.

"Not extraordinary, but good enough to be the 'chosen'. But isn't it a little dangerous to choose such a strong force of 'chosen' ones? Can we control them?"

"What are you worrying about? The hostage is in our hand. Beside..."

"What?"

"I still have an ace up my sleeve. With him, I can dispose them anytime I want. The magician is a different matter, but he won't be a problem. You can say we have something like a contract. And you know that what I need is not quality, but quantity. Only with that number of 'chosen' ones can we open the way to the 'center of the world'. And when that time comes, Idelian will belong to us."

"Your ace? Who is he?" Hex asked, sounding curious.

"You don't need to know. Just back me up and supply me with everything I may need for the coming battle. When we get our hands on Idelian, half of it will be yours."

"Fine. I have to go now. I'll the rest in your hands."

"Of course."

The window turned black, Hex had signed out of the program. Kuroi dropped himself back to the comfort of his chair and stared at the empty window in disdain. "In my hands? Idiot! Only those who dare to defy the Creator, to face with the ultimate law of nature will be able to control it. Even you. Just only a little mouse struggling in its hand."

Blood splashed on the keyboard, and onto the screen. The gray-hair middle-aged man slumped down and died instantly before he could understand what had just happened. The body was pushed away. It felt off the chair and someone sat down, didn't mind that he was sitting on a pool of blood. The sound of the keyboard was the only noise in the room.

The sound stopped.

"Have you had that program?" The voice of a girl broke the silence.

"Already. It's as easy as a piece of cake," answered a cheerful male voice.

≈•≈

The underground cell was dark. There were torches along the walls, but the dim light they created couldn't chase away the shadows at all the corners. There were no torches outside, so all what Illumi could see was limited in this room. The stone surface of the floor and wall felt cold. Its icy touch even got past the barrier of his clothes to roam on his skin.

There was no struggle to escape. The assassin just hung limply in his chains. Was it because he was exhausted and severely wounded? Just by looking at his bloodstained clothes, one could say he had lost a great deal of blood.

Time quickly passed. When the torches were going to die out, a person came into the cell. Illumi lifted his head up slowly. It was Kanfu. The drainer gestured his men to relight the torches then walked closer.

"Are you satisfied with your rest here?" Kanfu asked mockingly.

"Where is Hisoka?"

"Still on the outskirt of that town. Even if you could go there, I doubt you would recognize his corpse."

Illumi remained silent. Kanfu pushed his chin up with the handle of his whip. "At a loss of words? Weren't you really arrogant that time?"

The lack of response quickly angered the drainer. Kanfu started to whip Illumi furiously, trying to get any sign of fear from the assassin. However, he didn't success in any moan, or any pained expression.

"If you want to kill me, then hurry up." Illumi just murmured.

"Don't be so cocky!" Kanfu snarled. "You're in my hands now. Don't even dream of escape. Even to death."

"..."

"You think you're important just because you're a part of that team? Too bad. It is nessesary to make up a group of seven to get Idelian, but it is not nessaesary from the whole group to be alive. And now it's time you left those fools to meet your end."

"It seems everything has been perfectly arranged." Illumi's voice was as faint as a whisper.

"Clever, but too late!" Kanfu laughed. "Kuroi-sama had foreseen anything."

Suddenly there was a small crashing noise outside. It was so low that Kanfu wasn't aware of it, but Illumi had heard it clearly. Some emotion returned to the indifferent eyes. It was just for a moment, but disappointment had shown clearly in those depths.

Kanfu was still speaking volubly. "We have recorded all your actions. You're nothing more than just mere puppets."

"Really?" Illumi's low laugh startled the drainer.

"How dare you!" Kanfu snarled and whipped again. "You should feel honor to become our puppet. When Idelian falls into our hands, we will become the first who know the secret of the power that exceeds the limit! With that power, we will become Gods ourselves."

"What a pity. You don't have a chance." The expressionless reply was colder than ice.

"Wha--" Kanfu couldn't finish his sentence as four cards sank into his shoulders and back. The force behind the cards pushed him forward, and he had to transfer nen to his feet to help himself from feeling face down to the ground. Kanfu turned back and stared at the newcomer in disbelief. In front of him, Hisoka was leaning at the doorframe with a mocking smile on his lips, and the corpses of what had once been Kanfu's men at his feet.

"It can not be... I killed you..."

"With your skill? What a joke," Illumi said, dropping the chain onto the ground and walked pass the drainer, heading to the door.

Kanfu quickly raised his arm to catch Illumi, intending to use his special ability again before the assassin could go too far from him. His hand paused in midair as he quickly summoned his sword to block a needle that flied towards him with incredible speed. The needle hit his sword, but this time it was nothing like what he had encountered earlier. The drainer had put all his strength into the sword, but the needle still snapped it into two half and sank into his arm.

There was no blood, but Kanfu's arm immediately became limp. His eyes widen in horror. Kanfu hastily recreated the sword with his strong hand, intending to chop off the poisoned arm. However he was too late, the nen sword disappeared as the flow of nen refused to work once the quick poison had spread throughout his body.

"You—" The broken words were full of frustration and anger.

"Acting?" Illumi half turned his head back to the drainer. The distortion had taken place and now his bruised face had returned to normal. All the wounds had disappeared, leaving only dry bloodstains and burnt marks on his clothes. "If you had researched about us that thoroughly, you should have known acting is my strong point. I live with it."

"And a magician will a bad one if he doesn't know how to act." Hisoka added.

Angrily Kanfu tried to fight with the poison. The scene of the two fighters walking away danced before his eyes mockingly. He hadn't fallen yet, but they didn't even care that he existed. The drainer screamed. Suddenly his skin was torn in many places and black blood spurted out of the open wounds. It splashed on the walls and painted the floor red.

"I haven't lost yet!" Kanfu growled. He had used nen to force all the poison out of his vein. He just couldn't be defeated. Not now. Not when they were so close to their goals. However with that much blood lost, it was even harder to remain standing.

Hisoka and Illumi had turned back, but none of them looked impressed or concerned, which made him even angrier. The drainer's body started to glow a bright green light. He was going to use his most powerful technique, also the most dangerous one as his body in this weaken state might not be able to take all what he would absorb.

"How bothersome." Illumi said quietly and stepped up, a needle between his fingers.

Suddenly Hisoka wrapped his arm around his chest and dragged him back roughly. "What?" He snapped, but had no time to react as a massive force filled the room.

A whirlwind of blinding while light surrounded Kanfu and soon expanded to the whole cell, craving shock and confusion on the drainer's face. In only a second, it became an overwhelming source of power. Kanfu's face was distorted and blended into the whirlwind. His scream twisted into some horrible noise. Illumi was used to dying screams, however, the sheer agony in this inhuman scream, in the pain that turned into eternity still put shivers down his spine. All the corpses of Kanfu's men were suck into the whirlwind and instantly were torn and melt.

Illumi felt the pull immediately, but unable to react. He could only stared at the scene. He couldn't move his fingers, not to mention scrambled away from the cell. The pressure in the air was too much. It almost felt as if he was being crushed under the deepest part of the ocean. Hisoka's arm tightened around his chest and he heard faintly the magician was gritting his teeth, a sign that he was putting all his strength into resisting the whirlwind. Still they were dragged forward little by little as the power continued to get stronger.

The world turned brightly white. For a moment Illumi thought he had gone blind. However, the power disappeared as abruptly as it came, leaving the room to a heavy silence.

It took a while for Illumi senses to return to him completely and he was able to see well again. Hisoka were standing behind him with his arms fold. He didn't smile and his eyes were serious.

"What had happened?" Illumi looked back at Hisoka questioningly.

The magician just shrugged. "No idea. Let's go."

Illumi frowned. He walked into the room cautiously. Blood and gore splattered all over the floor, but for some reason it had become all dried. In the middle of the room was the most deformed corpse he had ever seen. There was nothing left that resembled the one who had once been called Kanfu.

There was a round place on the floor that wasn't stained with blood, even though it was in the middle of a pile of gore. On it were two pendants, one was broken, each piece glowed a weak white light. The other was a rusted circle with an image of the sun and several words craved on it.

Illumi picked a broken piece up and examined it, wanting to know if the pendant was the source of the power earlier. He failed though, as the glow quickly faded. He was unaware of the faint worried look on the magician's face.

His eyes left the piece to rest on the unbroken pendant. He stretched his hand out for it.

"Acting totally different from usual." Hisoka's voice suddenly erupted, distracting him from the pendant.

Illumi stood up. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"If you had really wanted to deceive me, you wouldn't have acted that poorly."

"But in the end, you also faked your defeat, didn't you? Why do you come here?"

"Not satisfied? Then why did you let yourself be captured in the first place? It seemed you had already known about this quest's ultimate ending, but you still accepted Kuroi's offer. Illumi, are you seeking for death?"

Illumi swirled around, the murderous stare fixed on Hisoka. "I warn you. Do not speak that nonsense."

Hisoka just smirked. "Why are you losing your calm so easily now, my dear Illumi? I understand you more than anyone else. You're jealous of your own brother. But not like that brat, there's only one way for you to reach your freedom. It's death. After seeing Kanfu attack with his special ability, you see your chance. To leave in honor and the pride of your name will still be intact."

"SHUT UP!" The needles flied at Hisoka angrily, each was thrown with the will to kill, but all were hit to the side with only one card.

"Why don't you try to take Idelian for your own? You will then be able to gain the power that exceeds the limit, the nen system that's far above perfection. With that much power, the Zoldirk will forever disappear under your hands."

A sharp needle pierced through the wooden doorframe. There was only one this time, but the mocking grin had disappeared on Hisoka's face. On his left cheek was a long, deep gash.

"I don't need the power that surpasses the limit. I only want an answer." Illumi said slowly, his voice low but threatening. He walked passed Hisoka to leave the underground prison.

The mysterious and intimidating smile once again found it ways to Hisoka's face. "You know, you'll make the most interesting toy."

Illumi froze, but he kept his head straight. All traces of emotions had gone from his tone. "If you're interested in Idelian that much, I suggest you try to take it on your own. May be you'll become the strongest then. I'll wait for you outside if you still want to work with me. But leave me alone or else you'll regret it." With that saying, Illumi left.

After Illumi had gone for a while, Hisoka's laugh suddenly shattered the silence. His nen rocketed nearly to his limit. A fearful aura formed around him and quickly became intense. "How idiotic. You think what I want is Idelian? Leave you alone? Too late Illumi, one way or another, you will still forever be a puppet. Or... a toy..."

The power swirling around Hisoka faded. "Idelian? The power that surpasses the limit? How hilarious." His laugher was full of malice.

"_Nothing can be gained without a price. All what reaches the top will soon deteriorate."_

≈•≈

Endless grassland... The grass that was high up to one's knees all bended into one direction in the evening wind. It carried the metallic smell of blood. Bloody grassland... Blood was everywhere. The eastern sky was dark-blue, but the clouds where the sun had just dipped into the horizon were all bright with the light of the sunset. What were once cotton-white now drenched in orange and red. It was almost like blood had even splashed on the sky...

The boy ran and ran. Horror painted clearly on his face. But in all directions, the grassland just stretched out endlessly. The boy fell to his knees, eyes fixing at his hands. They were smeared with blood.

"No... No..." He cried, hugging his fist to his chest. "Why... Dad... Mom..."

There was no answer. Lingering in the air was just the rustling sound of the grass moving restlessly in the blowing wind. The smell of blood had become so intense that it made him felt dizzy. Suddenly he heard the murmurs of flowing water somewhere near, the sound almost made him feel soothing. He scrambled to his feet unsteadily and ran to that direction.

It was a river, the familiar river that had always been embracing his hometown gently and lovingly. Both hands dived into the clear water, sending out waves and waves of ripples. The boy cried harder, trying all his might to clean the bloodstain off his hands, but the blood seemed to have merged into the skin. It wouldn't come off even though his skin felt raw and painful, even though blood had blended into the water. And soon the whole river became a sickly red stream.

Feeling exhausted, the boy stopped. His swollen eyes stared back at him from the crimson water, the eyes on a face that was much colder and more mature.

The teenager splashed water on his face, then lifted his head and stared at the mirror in front of him. His face, his hair and even the front of his shirt were all wet, but the water's icy touch had calmed him down a little. His hands were still shaking though. His legs were shaking too. His whole body trembled. He found himself unable to leave the men washroom to go back to the restaurant. It was partially because of the fear he had experienced when he finally found a chance to get near to that powerful person. The rest... he was shaken to the core, sensing the emotions that had long been buried crawling back to the surface.

Five years being poisoned by hatred... Five years tossing and turning in his sleep, haunting by the nightmare that visited him every night... Five years living in hell... He had worked himself to exhaustion in his endless quest of being stronger and the desperate struggle to keep his emotional strength from waning. Yet it wasn't enough to put off the sinful flame that had been lighted up five years ago.

Why? Just glancing at that person in a flickering moment was enough to make the will to revenge waver.

"You don't understand, do you?" The whisper floated sweetly in a cold winter evening. In the fireplace, the flame was dancing, guiding a young woman to start knitting a child's sweater. The child ran to his mother and the woman put down her knitting needle, rubbing his hair.

"Mom, why are you so cold?" The child asked innocently.

The cold hands pressed on each side of his cheeks, gently lifted his head up. And he froze, staring into a pair of empty eyes and a gloomy smile on pale lips.

"Because you killed me."

Death breathed on his skin icily. Freezing all blood in his veins. Freezing his heart.

Kurapika jolted up. For a second he was confused and shaken, but that moment quickly passed. It was just a nightmare, and he was too used to nightmares that it didn't hurt so much any more when he was finally awake. He pressed his hand on his temple, trying to suppress a growing headache. In the past few days, nightmare has been visiting him every night.

It was only three o'clock in the morning, but the shadows of the past had chased away any sleepiness. Without knowing why, he couldn't help realizing that he felt strangely uneasy. Kurapika paced in his room, willing himself to calm down while trying to find the reason of it. This sensation wasn't even born from the nightmare. It just formed from somewhere deep in his heart, and grew to the point it was suffocating. It felt as if a storm was coming near.

Suddenly he stopped as his eyes landed on a piece of paper at the door's slit. It wasn't there when he went to bed earlier. He quickly snatched it up. On it were some badly written words. "Simplicity is the key. Trust the first impression."

Kurapika shoved the door open and rushed to the hallway, but it was dark and empty. He returned to his room, all his senses on alert. The blond sat on his bed, staring at the thick darkness before him, his hand clenching around the chain, ready to react against any sudden attack. Time passed slowly, and in the end, he drifted into sleep. A sleep haunted by the color of blood and the vague shadow of someone so close, yet so far away.

≈•≈

Dusk arrived at the highland, casting a bright red curtain onto everything. The land had become less barren. The dry grass had lost it green and turned into yellow, but still any sign of life was better than plain sand and dust. None of them felt tired, but they still slowed down. There was no need to worry, because at the horizon, a mountain shape was pained clearly on the sky.

Faraway, the mountain was covered in a strange fog, making it impossible for one to have a clear view. For some reason, the air quickly turned from hot to cold, and as they advanced further, any sign of the highland vanished from view, replaced with ice and snow even though autumn had just only begun. It was as if there were invisible walls surrounding the mountain, effectively separating it from the outside world.

"It's here." Roy announced.

Kuroro stopped and frowned. "We haven't got on the mountain, have we?"

"I just told you we must go to the mountain. I said nothing about getting on it." Roy answered and turned left, disappearing behind a huge snow pile.

Kuroro followed him and arrived at a clearing. Ice and big rocks formed its border, and in its center was a large round stone.

"We will wait here." Roy said and put his travel bag down.

Kuroro looked around. A normal place that could be reached easily. "We've been walking for a whole day. If we had used some vehicle, we would have arrived here without any effort."

"I told you the time had not yet come, didn't I? But you kept demanding to go immediately." Roy asked with a nonchalant voice. "We will reach our destination in time. Not later, not earlier. If you insist on going immediately, we will find a way to go that still allows us to arrive in time. That's all."

Kuroro frowned, but didn't say a word. That brat! He might have Kurapika's appearance, but sometimes Kuroro wanted nothing more than teaching him a lesson that he would never forget for his whole life.

They sat by the fire, waiting.

Roy looked up at the moon, toying with the pendant on his chest half-heartedly. The pendant was beautifully crafted, with a huge ruby at the center of a star, and five smaller gems at each of the star's points. He gently curled and uncurled his hand around it, a wistful expression on his face.

Silence. Silence dragged into several hours, yet no one wanted to talk with the other. Or to be precise, no one had anything to say.

Finally, the night sky slowly turned into dark red. The wind died down and the air became thick with some kind of weak energy. Roy stood up and turned to the large rock in the middle of the clearing.

"Here it comes!"

Kuroro also stood up. He put on his guard, and watched the scene cautiously. His body was tense with anticipation as he waited for anything that might happen.

A phenomenon that only repeated itself once in a hundred years...

The legend that had been the goal of so many hunters...

It now started.

Everything had just begun.

TBC...


	8. All roads lead to Rome

**Idelian**

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 8: All roads lead to Rome…**  
_Written by kalina&loko, Kal Kally_

The room Leorio and Killua rent was in a cheap, shaggy inn. With the hunter cards in their hands, they could have had a much better one. However, near the mountain they had just escaped there was only a small and poor village and no matter how they wanted to relax and enjoy themselves to their hearts' content, making up for those hard days imprisoned in the invisible cage, they just simply didn't have much time to waste in searching for a richer town.

And on a second thought, a good dinner and two comfortable bed in a small, but cozy room... It was still far better than the cold wooden house in a snowstorm.

"Let's try to put these pieces together." Leorio took out the broken pieces of the pendant they had found in the wooden house and put it down.

"Are you sure you bring along all of them?" Killua walked to him from the door of their room.

"Of course." Leorio said, dropping the broken pieces of the remaining pendant onto the floor.

Killua stepped to him and stared at the mess. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What else if not putting them together?"

"I told you not to mix them, didn't I?"

"..." Leorio also stared down at the small pile of the pendants' broken pieces. "Oh. I forgot" He exclaimed, only now remembering Killua's words and the reason why he shouldn't have done what he did.

"Or dear..." Killua groaned and sat down beside him. "I have nothing more to say. Now it's really impossible to put the pendants back to their old forms."

"... Nothing we can't do if we try our best!"

"We don't have time! Oh well, it doesn't matter. Let's look at the letters of the second keywords. Don't tell me you've thrown it away."

Leorio searched all his pockets for a long time. Killua just watched him patiently, though he looked clearly irritated. In the end, after much effort, Leorio managed to pull out a tiny crumpled piece of paper from the hole between the two layers of his coat. He put it down on the ground.

"Of course I still keep it! See? But what on earth? I've never seen those letters before."

The letters didn't come from any language the two hunters knew or at least, had seen. They had many curves which turned into circles in some places. Killua moved his finger along the letters' patterns, trying to remember if he had seen them before. He failed though.

"Are you sure these are indeed letters? It might just be meaningless shape that some loonies created for no reason." Leorio eyed the letters skeptically.

"They're definitely letters!" Killua insisted. "Usually nen users will create keywords with letters, as it will be easier to remember. It also doesn't require one to be too geometry precise when using the keyword. It would be too difficult to draw a shape exactly like the one that had been used to create the keyword."

"We don't even know what this language is. How can we understand these letters?"

Killua frowned, a thought popped up in his head. "Look, maybe we should find a linguist! He might be able to help us!"

"I know no linguist."

"Neither do I. But we can always check in the phone directory."

After several hours searching in the phone directory, finally they had in their hands the addresses of eleven linguists. When Leorio and Killua finished with the directory, it was past midnight so they decided they would contact the linguists on the next day. And when they did, the list was quickly shortened as among the linguist, two were living too faraway, one couldn't be contacted and three refused to meet them.

The whole morning was spent in running around seeking help. However, the strange language that they had on the piece of paper seemed to never exist. None of the linguists they met had seen the letters before, not to mention understood it.

"This is the last in the list." Leorio stared at the only line that hadn't been crossed out on the paper he was holding. "If he doesn't know either, what will we do?"

"There're still the other three, right?"

"But they refused to meet us, didn't they?"

"Then I'll convince them to accept our requests." Killua said, emphasis on the word 'convince'.

Leorio frowned, then sighed. He preferred not to use force, but if they were pushed to a corner, he still wouldn't hesitate to do dirty trick if needed.

The address didn't point to a village or town. The village where they stayed was connected to a large town to the north by a long dirt path. Along the path, there were no signs of human, only leafless trees and withering shrubs growing on endless deserted meadow. The sight was lifeless and boring, never changing in miles. However, if one were patient enough to go along that path on foot, at one point, he would find the road divided into a paved lane. It was hidden among bramble bushes, so people would never see it from a moving vehicles. Following the paved lane, Leorio and Killua arrived at a large and beautiful garden surrounding a brick and old mansion. Carved on the rusted metal panel on the gate was a name: Marble Leiling. All the linguists they had visited earlier had advised them to come to him. He was a strange person, owning no academic title; yet among those who were interested in linguistics, almost everyone knew his name. He was also a Hunter respected for his contribution to humankind about language and culture.

They rang the door bell several times but no one answered. Just as they decided to give up, the door of the mansion across the garden opened and a middle-aged man stepped out. The man opened the gate for Leorio and Killua, greeting them with a friendly smile. He didn't seem to be surprised at the two hunters' presence; however, they couldn't help staring at the little kittens and dogs on his baggy clothes in some kind of horrified awe.

"Excuse me, we have an appointment with Professor Leiling." Leorio said cautiously.

The man nodded. "It's true that I'm the Leiling that you're finding. Though I'm so honored that you called me Professor, the humble side in me understands fully I do not deserve with that gracious title."

Leorio and Killua looked at each other, speechless.

Leiling laughed and gestured them to get in the house. "Please come in. I know I'll surprise you with those words."

They both looked confused, but they followed Leiling into the mansion anyway. Killua hesitated a little though. He could tell the man was strong, maybe much more powerful than him. However, at that moment, they didn't have the right to choose. Besides, there was no killing aura around the man so Killua guessed it would be fine if he were careful.

Leiling invited them to sit down on the long couch in the living room. Killua looked around; he had never seen any place that had as many books as this one. The bookcases that stood high up to the ceiling were stacked with thick books. Not only that, books and scrolls piled in heaps on the floor.

"Do you come from somewhere faraway? You said that you're both hunters. But... Although my connections in this region are quite deep, I don't remember knowing any hunters that look like you," said Leiling.

"We just left Mount—"

"Yes, we're from somewhere faraway." Killua quickly cut Leorio off, not wanting to let a stranger know too much about them.

"Would you stay here and having dinner with us?"

"Huh?" Leorio and Killua stared at each other again, unsure how to react to the sudden invitation.

"Oh, wait for me a little." Leiling stepped to the door leading to the other rooms and called. "Sandra! Your guests have arrived!"

Killua sprang to his feet. "But you have agreed to meet us!"

"Just wait a little."

There were footsteps coming near, and a woman appeared at the door. Killua guessed she was Leiling's wife as they both wore two identical rings on their fingers. Though the young woman was short and wearing a thick glass, she was beautiful and she had such an innocent aura that it seemed no one would be able to remain angry around her. "Are they the little kids that come to visit us from far faraway lands?" The woman asked Leiling with a voice almost as melodious as the song of a canary.

"Little kids?" Leorio and Killua both voiced out their surprise as Sandra looked younger than both of them. They had no time to complain though as Sandra had ran to them and shake their hands one by one a little too enthusiastically.

"I wanted to see you in person so much that even just a minute of waiting felt like it had blended into eternity. Now your mere presence warms up my longing heart like the arrival of dazzling spring breaking the freezing spells of snow and ice, returning the green to hills and mountains."

The two hunters were at a loss of words. They just stared at Sandra with their gaping mouth. Leiling had sat down on the armchair in front of them. He turned his head away, and his body shook lightly. It seemed like he was having a hard time controlling his laughter.

Sandra also sat down beside Leiling, looking at the two hunters warmly, maybe too warmly. For some reasons, Leorio and Killua couldn't help feeling embarrassed under that look.

"So what is so important that it makes you come to our humble house?"

"..."

"..."

"Please tell me. I will do everything I can to help you."

"The one I want to meet is Mr. Leiling! I come here to find the language hunter, not some weak woman!" Killua blurted out.

Leiling burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that his body doubled and tears came out of his eyes. Sandra smiled. "Little boys." She said, unaware that both of her guests winced, horrified at how they were called.

"It's true that Leiling is a hunter, one as brave and respectable as any extraordinary individual that has contributed their whole lives to the noble task of changing this world into a better one. However I'm the humble 'language' part in what everyone sees and respects."

"..." Leorio just stared.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand." Killua mumbled.

Leiling straightened up and said with a more serious tone. "I'm not interested in all those language stuff. But Sandra is obsessive about it. However she cannot fight and she's a woman so she meets much troubles, prejudices and even dangers in her search for research materials. That's why I decided to become a hunter to help and protect Sandra. She also wants to publish all her research under my name, so the name Marble Leiling can become more and more popular. That way it will be easier for Marble Leiling to access to the most restricted materials."

"Don't you feel bad that you aren't recognized for what you have done?" Leorio asked curiously.

"Little boy, fame is only the fleeting illusion that we think we see on the road of thorns each of us is walking on. It brings us nothing except the deception of the heart. It tricks us into thinking that we're so noble just because we achieved something in life. But in reality, without dream and passion humans are just pitiful creatures crawling on the earth. Fame is empty without the love for what you're living for. And eventually fame dies. In the end, only our passion and the fruit of our hard work are everlasting, forever craved into the flow of time."

"oh.. ah... oh well..." Leorio stammered, not sure if he should agree with the woman or not. Killua secretly slammed his elbow into the doctor's side, warning him not to ask any more stupid question.

The woman didn't seem to stop her speech soon. Horrified, Killua quickly pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and spread it on the table. "We want to know what this line mean. Can you help us?"

Sandra grabbed the paper and her face brightened up. "Oh! I've never seen this letter before. Ah! This verb can be used like this! What about this one? It seems to be in the wrong tense but I'm not sure. Can I keep it? Can I? Can I?"

"Um..." Now even Killua was at a loss of word.

"You should help them first, my love." Luckily Leiling interfered. "They've come so far just because of that one sentence."

"I understand. Please wait for me a little." Sandra said and disappeared into another room.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Your wife is always like this?" Leorio stared at the door in amazement.

"That's why I love her." Leiling grinned while Leorio and Killua looked at him with a horrified expression.

Sandra returned to the living room after a while. She handed the two hunters a pink fragrant page carefully torn out of some notebook. On it were some hand-written words. "This line was written in such an ancient style that even with years of experience it still took me much time to return it to the pure beauty of a forgotten language. Here is the result."

Leorio and Killua immediately grabbed the paper.

'The Magnificent God rest at the Center of the World. Doom for those who failed his Highness. Strength and Fortune for the strong will.'

"What's this..." Killua murmured in disappointment. "I thought it has some useful information. Now what should we do?"

"Will you stay with us for dinner?" Sandra suddenly asked.

"I'm sorry." Leorio refused. "But we're in a hurry. We really don't have time."

"And even if we had, I'm in no mood to eat." Killua added.

The smile on Sandra's lips didn't falter. "I don't know what you expected to gain from this line. But if I let you know where this language comes from, I think it will be easier for you to find what you're searching for."

"Really?" Both Leorio and Killua cried. "Where is it?"

"But could I ensure myself that you will stay with us for dinner?" Sandra insisted.

"... Only if we don't bother your family." Leorio agreed after a long silence. Killua also nodded.

Sandra looked happy. She leaned back to her armchair and spoke with pleased voice. "Then I'll tell you. This is the ancient langue of the Kuruta clan."

The two hunters both startled. "The Kuruta clan!"

"Yes. This clan has completely disappeared now, but 1500 years before, the original Kuruta clan was a populated and powerful clan. The clan members scattered all over the North mountainous region. They lived into smaller groups; each was like a tiny organized society. These groups could cooperate well in peaceful time or join forced in war. For some unknown reason, they started moving to the South about 700 years ago, and from that time, the clan dissolved slowly. In the end, one or two decades ago they remained only as a small group living in a town somewhere on Rukuso grassland. The original Kuruta clan worshipped the Sun God. They held all of their religious events on a sacred mountain which was called 'The Center of the world'.

"The center of the world... They're the words on the paper!" Killua cried.

"That's right. I believe that if you come to that mountain, you will be able to reach what you're searching for."

≈•≈

"Simplicity is the key. Trust the first impression."

Kurapika stared at the piece of paper he was holding. It was obvious that someone had put it at his door to urge him to find out the meaning of the line on the pendant. Except Kuroi, who could have known about him and the pendant? It must be one of Kuroi's followers that had given it to him. What did Kuroi want?

The pendant felt heavy in his hand. He had been told to trust his first impression of it. What could he possibly miss on this rusted metal piece? Kurapika frowned, trying to remember his first thought when he saw the pendant on Reficul's chest.

Though his memory didn't work, Kurapika knew that the first impression was usually the impression of shape and form. So he focused on observing the pendant. On the metal surface there were only the image of the sun and the line of words. The sun was stylized in a strange way with twisting sunrays that reached out to the pendant's border. And the line… The size of the words varied with each letter. They were arranged into a curved trapezium block with the long edge turning to the sun. Almost like an… altar?

Could it mean 'to worship the sun'? But the Kuruta clan had never had this tradition. Still for some reason Kurapika couldn't push this thought out of his mind.

He got online in the net room of the hotel and looked up all the civilizations that had once worshipped the Sun God. No word could describe his surprise when he saw the name Kuruta on the list, with the time dated back to over 15 centuries. These must be the ancestors of his clan. He never knew his clan had such a long history. Kurapika quickly clicked on the link and read the information on the returned page. 15 centuries before, The Kuruta clan worshipped the Sun God, and considered the Sun God to be the Creator of the whole world and the absolute force of Nature. This religion had been continued for many centuries and all of their religious activities took place on a mountain that they regarded as the sacred mountain. The name of the mountain has been used until today. The name was 'Rolrick Trasfery', meaning 'the center of the world' in ancient Kuruta language.

"Rolrick Trasfery!" Kurapika cried and drew out the pendant to examine it again. These words had appeared on his translation. It was the transcription of the phrase: 'Center Earth'.

"The Magnificent God locates at the Center of the Earth." Kurapika murmured. "How could I have not thought of this before!"

He looked up the word "Rolrick Trasfery". The returned results were all advertisements for a tourism area near a mysterious mountain that was covered in thick fog all year round.

So the mountain did exist. It might be the place where Idelian located. His friends might have already been taken there so Kurapika decided that it would be his next destination.

≈•≈

Gon groaned and pushed himself up. How long had he been sleeping? It could be just several minutes, it could be hours. Time had no meaning in this brightly lit empty room where the food and water bowls that were left to him everyday were the only furniture.

He dragged himself to the metal wall and hunched there unmoving. There was no wound on his body, but his head was throbbing and his whole body aches. The bowls were hardly touched. He only ate when he could no longer stand hunger and thirst. Undernourishment and the dozes on cold floor were tiring him to the point that just moving his fingers felt difficult. However, it was the emotional pain that was eating him inside out. Gon knew his captors used him as a hostage, and he didn't think he could stand it if anything happened to his friends because of him.

The light abruptly went out. Gon startled and jolted up. Days or nights, this room had always been lit by a strong while light, and now the sudden darkness bound his eyes as effective as a thick scarf. All his senses were on alert as he braced himself for whatever would happen next.

The light was back; however it was not the brightly white light he had grown accustomed to. It was a dim orange light, barely allowing Gon to see his surroundings. There was a roar at his side. Gon snapped his head to that direction and froze as he stared at a monster three times as large as him coming closer. It was hideous and disgusting with rotten flesh and decayed skin, even exposing while pale bones underneath. The roars erupted at all directions and Gon looked around, shocked as he saw dozens of similar monsters surrounding him. The whole room was soon filled with their stinking breath.

The nearest one attacked. Gon jumped to his left; however his exhaustion had robbed him of his usual agility and the monster's claws left five long gashes on his right arm. He had no time to worry about this though, as he was forced to dodge another attack.

"Wait! I don't want to harm you!" Gon cried, blocking the huge claw slamming down at his head. The monsters didn't seem to understand him, as they just charged forwards with crazed eyes.

The attacks continued. The monsters were not much dangerous, but in his fatigue, Gon could barely avoid being hit. He glanced at the wall, then glanced back at the monsters surrounding him. If he could get close to the wall, he wouldn't have to watch his back. If he could do that, he would still have a chance to survive. He didn't think he would last much longer if he had to deal with the monsters from all directions while his body was screaming for rest.

His chance came when the monsters temporarily left a large empty space between him and the wall. Gon immediately swirled around and rushed to that direction, but that was a grave mistake. The air was torn by a loud scream. Gon fell down. He gritted his teeth and rolled to aside even though it meant to scrape his wounded shoulder against the floor. It was just in time for him to avoid being crushed under a monster's huge feet. Gon quickly rose to his feet, but he was once again surrounded tightly. His vision was blurring, and the small hand pressing on the new wound on his left shoulder could stop the blood from flowing out. Still there was no fear in his eyes, only a fierce determination. "I will not die here." He whispered. And he fought back.

All of his attacks aimed at the monsters' neck as he tried to knock them out. It was not very difficult, since the monsters fought with their instincts rather than their heads. One by one, they were unconscious.

He was about to hit another monster when one suddenly appeared right in front of him. Gon startled and tried to stop, but it was too late. His arm sank into the monster's chest up to his elbow. A cry escaped lips. Gon jerked his hand back and stared at the fallen body before his eyes in horror. He only had several seconds to be horrified though, as the other monsters cornered him again.

Things abruptly changed from worse to worst. The monsters kept getting in his way and got themselves killed.

"Stop!" Gon screamed, but the monsters didn't stop. And he couldn't stop even though he tried to get away from them. His heart was pounding, his mouth was dry and he was sweating all over. Just like the time he witnessed Hisoka's power. However, that time it was because of fear, and now it was because of an overwhelming panic.

Blood… there was so much blood… He felt light-headed, like he was somewhere far away. But the warmth of broken flesh leaving on his hands and the dying screams were so real that it hurt.

Just before his hand thrust into the last alive monster's chest, the fog clouding his head suddenly cleared, and his eyes widened as he stared at the face that would forever etch into his memory. The face of a little boy, wet with tears and twisted in fear… It was just for several second, but it burned into his eyes how the terror turned into agony and finally, death…

Time stretched and slowed. Gon could only stared at the lifeless body sliding down to the ground and the red slime dripping from his hands. Hesitantly he lifted his head and looked at the scene around him like in a trance. Scattered all around the room were the bodies of many people lying motionlessly. Most of them were just children.

"What's this… Why…?" He fell to his knees, unable to face with reality, unable to understand what was happening.

Gon crawled to a nearby corpse and shakily turned it around. He felt nauseous. The child had died with a gaping wound on his chest, the same wound that he had caused to a monster.

"No…" He whispered. Tears rose in his eyes, and finally they broke free and fell on his cheeks.

For the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like for one to loathe himself.

≈•≈

In the darkness of the laboratory center's hall…

"Sometimes you surprise me, Coltopi." The voice of a young woman shattered the silence. "I know you can fake living creatures on living ones, but I never thought you could do that against this many people."

"I can't believe he didn't even want to harm such hideous monsters. I almost feel sorry for him. This kind of thing… Is it necessary, Machi?" Another young woman said.

Machi withdraw the threads into her hands. "It's the quickest way to break that boy's spirit. I never thought he only intended to knock them out though. It's hard enough controlling all of those people and still I have to control that brat."

"But I… killing him is one thing, but this is so…"

"We cannot afford to be soft now. Danchou had accepted that Kuroi's offer not because of Genei Ryodan, not because of himself but because of the chain guy. Now I'm not even sure if he would choose us over that damn boy. For the Spider, we have to do this."

"You're right." Shizuku replied, but she still had to repress a sign.

A masked shadow approached them. In his arms was an unconscious boy with black spiky hair.

"It took you a little too long, Feitan." Machi frowned.

"The boy nearly lost himself. He attacked me." Feitan said and handed the boy to Machi.

A cruel smile appeared on the young woman's lips as her eyes rested on the tear-stained face. "His innocence is the source of his strength and will. But in this world, there's nothing easier to break than innocence." She turned to the rest of her group. "Let's go. We almost use up all the time Shalnark gives us. If Kuroi's security system got back to work, we would be in deep shit. Shizuku, don't leave any trace behind."

"Alright."

The strange people walked away and soon lost into darkness.

≈•≈

"WHAT?" Kuroi roared. "The hostage has disappeared?"

The voice at the other side of the phone line was trembling. "Yes. And we discovered Kanfu's corpse. We have also lost tracks of Hisoka and Illumi."

"Then what are you rotting there for? Find them!" Kuroi snapped and slammed the phone down.

He leaned to his chair and frowned. Kanfu had disobeyed his order and provoked Hisoka. Hisoka had already known Kanfu was his follower. The magician should have considered that fact and at least show some mercy, but he killed Kanfu instead. Hisoka always kept his control perfectly. There could be only one reason for this. Kanfu must have touched something that belonged to the magician, something so important that Hisoka couldn't overlook that daring action.

Those were not the only problems. This morning, he received the bad news that his most powerful servant, his ace was found dead on the mountain where they placed the nen cage. Who could have done this? He had been watching the Zoldirk boy and his friend closely; those two didn't even know that they were monitored.

And now, he lost the hostage. It couldn't be Hisoka. The magician knew too well that the boy could only be safe when being kept by him. It was Hisoka who demanded Gon Frecss must be imprisoned for his own safety in the first place, so there would be no reason for Hisoka to break into the cell to take that boy out. It could not be the boy's friends, as he had been keeping tight watch on them. Hisoka was not a problem as in the end the magician would go to Idelian anyway. But those who saved the boy were another matter.

Except him and the group of seven, was there another side? What did those people want? Was Idelian their purpose?

Kuroi's lips tightened into a thin line. He must be very careful from this point onward.

There had been cracks in his perfect plan.

And sometimes, a crack was enough to shattered the whole plan that had cost a lifetime to be put up

≈•≈

"Here it comes!" Roy stood up and turned to the large rock in the middle of the clearing.

Kuroro also stood up. He put on his guard, ready for battle. The dark red sky was ominous and threatening. The crimson clouds swirled on their heads, a sign showing that something important was about to happen. The snow and ice around them brightened up, reflecting the dark light falling down from the sky. The scene was magnificent. Kuroro rarely get rattled over anything, but at that moment, he was slightly overwhelmed by this glorious performance of nature.

And then they were attacked. Not by weapons, but by a savage heat. A column of light plunged down onto the large rock in the middle of the clearing, so bright that Kuroro had to raise his hand to shield his eyes from it. Their clothes seethed and smoked, but the heat couldn't harm them any little bit. The light abruptly disappeared, and the heat faded into warm steams as the snow was still melting.

"What does this mean? A legend in five seconds!" Kuroro looked up at the sky after a moment of surprise. The red light was fading and the clouds were turning back to their usual grayness. "There wasn't even any danger."

Roy ignored the other. He walked to large rock, pulling out a round mental plate and pressed it on the stone surface. It was until that moment that Kuroro realized the stone surface was radiating a bright red light.

"What's that?"

"A kind of 'keyword'. Years ago, one day before the disappearance of the Night Hunters, people also witnessed a phenomenon like this. They thought it was a sign of misfortune, but in deed, it opened the way to Idelian." Roy lifted the metal plate up. The heat from the stone's surface was slowly fading, but it had craved on the metal place several lines of strange letters. "This is the ancient language of the Kuruta's clan. We have to wait for Kurapika if we want to understand it. The time had drawn near, the boy is supposed to be in this region by now."

"Call your other self. He comes from that clan, doesn't he?" Kuroro suddenly spoke up. His sentence plunged the air around them into a heavy silence.

"What are you saying?" Roy said slowly, almost threateningly.

"The center of the world is cemetery. There hatred will become love. Isn't it your another self?" Kuroro replied calmly.

"… How do you know he's from the Kuruta clan?"

"I think so."

"And why do you think I'm not while you say I and he are sharing the same body?"

"I think so."

That was the end of the conversation. Roy didn't say anything more and Kuroro didn't care if he did or not.

Just when they started up a fire with Roy's special oil which was able to burn on snow terrain, Roy noticed a movement of something behind a large snow pile. He waited until Kuroro no longer paid any attention to him before coming to that direction.

A falcon landed on his shoulder.

Roy didn't feel surprised to see a falcon here on this snow land. The bird was warped in a thick layer of nen, which protected it from being harm by the freezing air.

"This is…" Roy frowned as he looked at what the falcon brought him. On his hand was a rusted pendant with the image of the sun on it. There was no letter or note, but after a glance at its unharmed state, he understood everything.

"Useless!" He hissed, his hand clenching around the metal plate. What was Kuroi doing? Making mistake in this final stage was like jumping straight into their failure. Roy closed his eyes, forcing him to calm down.

He lifted the pendant and examined it more closely. There were two tiny cuts on the back of the pendant. Then it must be one of the two pendants that had been given to the second group. Roy put the pendant into his pocket. There had been some problems with Hisoka's group and now the pendant had come back to him. But it was not too late. If Kuroi had sent him this, it meant that there was still a chance to correct their plan. Hisoka's group must be around here. All what he must do now was finding them and put the pendant back where it was supposed to be.

A determined look crossed his face and he disappeared into the darkness of the night after letting the falcon fly back to its owner.

When Roy came back to their small camp, Kuroro had long gone to sleep. He sat down beside the fire, and watched the flame for what felt like hours. The sky had returned to its normal pale blackness completely, but the glorious red sky still revived vividly in his memory every time he closed his eyes.

He couldn't sleep. Not on this night. Not when the similarity of the blood red sky had called back a sea of memories. It was in a night like this…

"The law of nature binds us… The Creator of all lives…" He whispered to himself, his voice melodious, almost as if he were singing. "But we're the most supreme beings on Earth… We'll defy… any God that stands in our way…"

A short derisive laughter echoed among ice and snow. And then… silence.

≈•≈

TBC…

≈•≈

A/N: I'm so happy that I get more than 1 review for the last chapter. They gave me the motive to work on this fic. Thank you very much for the reviews


	9. Into the night

**Idelian**

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 9: Into the night**  
_Written by Phi Phi, Catweres, Karma, Kal Kally_

The air was cold, so cold that it would make even a falling water drop frozen. To Illumi, it was only like a weak breeze. However he was surprised that the river Hisoka and he were following hadn't been frozen yet. Even though the snow that covered the banks was deep, the river still flowed, carrying on its surface ice blocks of various sizes. They had come close to the mountain. Its shadow drew a huge, gloomy shape on the sky, looking both threatening and hostile.

"How long will we have to follow this river?" Illumi broke the heavy silence between them.

"When we arrived at the meeting place." Hisoka answered simply. The magician was walking before him, so Illumi couldn't see his expression. He shrugged, not like it was possible to guess anything from Hisoka's expression anyway.

The meeting place? Was it where they were supposed to meet the others? How did Hisoka know that place when their guide was dead? There were so many questions unanswered that Illumi couldn't help being skeptical about the magician's motive. It seemed like it was not just for his brother's little friend that the magician took part in this search.

They stopped abruptly. Illumi knew just like him, Hisoka must have seen something flickering far from the riverbank. Illumi tensed, suddenly sensed that someone was watching them. He viewed the surrounding carefully and concentrated on searching for any strange noise. There was nothing. Illumi hesitated, he wanted to head to that direction and checked if anything were wrong, but Hisoka had started walking again. Illumi frowned, then shook his head slightly. He must be imagining if Hisoka acted like nothing happened.

His thought lasted only several minutes. Illumi swirled back. It was that noise again. The noise was so low that normal people would never catch it, but to him, it was clearly the sound of metal falling on a hard surface. This time, he ignored Hisoka and walked to that direction.

Behind a dead, snow-covered tree was a short, but large ice block. His eyes widen as he spotted a rusty round piece of metal on the far edge of the ice block. Illumi picked it up in surprise. It was the pendant that he had seen in the underground cell after Kuroi was dead. There might be many pendants that had the same pattern, but the stained mark on it surface was identical.

"Stay away from it!"

Illumi turned around and nearly dropped the pendant as Hisoka rushed to him. The mild hint of worry and fear on the magician's face was enough to make him frozen. Before he had time to wonder what was happening, Hisoka had snatched the pendant from his hand harshly and threw it away. "What--" Illumi's bewildered question was cut off. The earth suddenly trembled, and split into a huge crack under his feet.

Almost immediately, they were enveloped in a bright white light...

≈•≈

Viewed from the city, Rolrick Trasfery Mount looked grandiose and enigmatic, like a mystery forever concealed behind thick fog. Opposite to the crowded and noisy tourist city that had took it as the main source of wealth, the mountain created an aura of seclusion and gloominess. There was no green; a pale lifeless white covered everything.

Dropping a lump of sugar into his cup and stirred it absent-mindedly, Kurapika watched the mountain from a coffee shop near the hotel he was staying. A thick gray coat hid his usual tunic, making him look like any normal boy. It was not that Kurapika was cold, but he thought he would stand out too much if he continued to wear thin clothing. It was only the end of summer, but here in this mountainous region, the air was as icy as in any winter day. All the trees were needle-leaf plants, and flowers must grow in glasshouse. The cold weather ruled all seasons, not allowing people to walk out of their home without the protection of thick, warm clothes.

"In the city, though it's always winter, snow rarely falls." The tourist-map seller told him. "But after you go pass the first protection wall, you will see snow. The few people who had managed to get near the mountain and still come back said there are places where the snow is up to one's knees. Even the river that flows through this city is the same. Here it is just like any normal river, but after you go pass the first protection level, water becomes icy. It's a mystery how ice blocks form, but when you see them, they have already been floating on the river. Maybe it is Rolrick Trasfery that cast a never-ending cold spell on this region."

The loud noise of a car stopping abruptly near the coffee shop pulled Kurapika back to the present. The shop faced the main road of the city, the one that connected to the only path leading to the mountain. He lifted the cup to his lips, and nearly choked. Only now did Kurapika realize he had put up to 6 or 7 sugar cubes into his coffee.

"Excuse me." He called the waiter." "I want another coffee."

"I will bright it immediately."

"Ah, and..." Kurapika said as the waiter was turning away. "Could I ask a question?"

"What can I help you?"

"Is there any path leading to the mountain other than this road?"

"This is the only way. If you want to go on a sightseeing tour, you must ask your tourist agency to register with RTSS."

Kurapika dismissed the waiter, not surprised at that news. He had studied much about the mountain before coming to this region. Two huge electric fences surrounded the whole mountain, all being guarded tightly.

The first fence was called Protection Wall Level 1. It was built and maintained by the Rolrick Trasfery Safety Center, or RTSS, a security organization leaded by the city's mayor himself. Tourist who wanted to pass through the protection wall must ask for permission from this organization, and must agree to let one of the organization's guards to escort them on their tours. There had never been any one allowed to get pass the Protection Wall Level 2.

The reason for such a tight security was based on a disaster happened 300 years ago.

The tale about Rolrick Trasfery's majestic power could be found plentifully in regional folk stories. They used to be just able to scare people away from the mountain, but then, everything changed. In a night 300 years ago, when the night was dark and there was no moon, all of a sudden the mountain lightened. The mist dispersed, and the light surrounding the mountain was strong enough to make night as bright as daylight. It was the only time when people could see all the glorious crystalline beauty of the mountain. The light faded as morning came, and again, the mountain returned to its sanctuary behind thick fog. No one could explain it, but after that night, the terror of the mountain had come out from folk tales to walk into real life as a nightmare.

It started as only a horrible curse that fell upon those who dared to wander into the land around the mountain. No matter if they could return or not, misfortunes would happen to them, to their families, relatives and even friends. Grave illness, mysterious death, bankruptcy, broken happiness… Strange misfortune continuously occurred.

At that time the city was only a town. It was as if a fear spell was cast on the residents. Everyone was afraid, and rumors about the mountain occupied almost all conversations. In the end, the fear of the unknown had driven people into trying to destroy the road in order to close the gate to the mountain forever. They used dynamites, hammers and everything they could think of, but to their surprise, they couldn't create even just a little crack on the stone floor.

Two days later, an epidemic spread throughout the town. The patient's pupils slowly become opalescent. They lost their vision slowly, always feeling like they were seeing through a thick fog. Their skin turned pale, their blood pressure reduced dramatically. Moving was difficult, and in the end, they would be paralyzed. The ailment lasted for several days, and always ended with the patients' death.

The doctors and scientist that flocked to this region called it 'the frozen symptoms". No matter how they tried, they couldn't find out the source of the illness. It wasn't even exactly an epidemic, as it didn't spread to anyone who came to the town after it started. Some patients were carried to other large cities, but outside the town, the disease wasn't infectious anymore.

Finally, all the patients were gone. With nothing else to do in an empty town, the outside doctors, scientists and the curious all left. The town was deserted in many years.

300 years later, a gifted economist, Rock Millian, came to the region. He saw promising chance for development in the devastated old town and decided to use the curiosity of people and what had been the terror of the past to turn that abandoned place into a wealthy tourist city. After losing two of his men to the mountain, he didn't want any other incidents could happen. So the two protection electronic walls came into existence. The first one was built in order not to let anyone wander too close to the mountain and the second was built in order not to let people come too close the first.

His plan, seeming so utopian at first, succeeded in the end. After three hundreds years, the terror the mountain caused had turned into myth. Rumors changed Rolrick Trasfery into a holy mountain and changed the stone path that leaded to it into a place that can cure any illness and redeem any sin. Even though the conditions to get permissions were hard to meet, every year, there were thousands people come here, just for the chance to walk on the stone path.

After finishing his second cup, Kurapika left the coffee restaurant. He intended to go to the mayor in the afternoon and asked for permission to pass the L2 Protection wall. It would be difficult, as the mayor in his position might not want any bad thing to happen and smeared the reputation of his city.

On the way back to his hotel, Kurapika walked pass a man standing beside a newspaper vending machine. He was reading the daily local newspaper. The large title, or to be exact, two photos on its first page jumped into Kurapika's eyes. He only glanced at them for several seconds but he was already stunned to see Leorio and Killua.

Kurapika hastily snatched a copy and returned to his room. The newspaper had brought him both joy and relief to know that his friends were alive, and were also in this region.

This region? Kurapika frowned. What were they doing in this region? Slowly he opened the newspaper and read it.

"Yester day, the two suspects…"

Suspects?

"... The two suspects had registered a tour with RTSS center. On their tour, they knocked out the guard going with them and disappeared. At 2 AM this morning, a patrol guard has found a place where the L2 wall is broken. RTSS center has not yet confirmed if the two suspects have passed through the L2 wall.

We also received other sad news. At around 4 AM, all the guards at both L1 and L2 gate were found dead. At the crime scene, there were many needles and desk cards; however authority failed to discover the connection between them and the mass murder.

RTSS center suspect the two who broke L2 wall are also the second case's culprits; though there are still many things that need to be clear. Currently, RTSS center is putting all their efforts in making sure that the culprits will be punished. Security had been tightened, and the mayor has announced that no permission would be given until all problems have been solved."

Kurapika dropped the newspaper to the ground, an unreadable expression on his face. Surely he was happy that Leorio and Killua were safe, but he was irritated that even when they were separated, his companions still gave him this much trouble.

There was no use talking with the mayor now. The only way left was breaking through the two gates. However, it would not be easy. Kurapika closed his eyes and sighed. There was no other way around it. Even if Idelian weren't there, he would still have to get pass the level 2 border to find Killua and Leorio.

≈•≈

The cards met the nen wall with such a force that it would break even iron. However, they all bounced back and fell down to the nen surface beneath. All Hisoka's attempts to shatter the square nen cage imprisoning them were futile. Time was running out for them. At all directions the nen walls were slowly closing in.

Illumi remained passive; his thoughts drifted back to what Hisoka had told him the day before. He had never thought of it like that, but now he couldn't help wondering if Hisoka were right. Was he searching for death? It was not that he was particularly interested in being alive, and now, he didn't even have the heart to try to break out of the nen cage. Even if they were to die right at that moment, everything would still be all right. Something stirred in his frozen heart, a vague emotion... At least, he wouldn't die alone. Hisoka was here... Hisoka was around... Hisoka was... by...his side...

Had he even thought of that?

Hisoka turned to Illumi, his expression stayed the same, but his eyes were mad. He marched towards Illumi angrily. "Would you just stop that stupid, bothering thought?!?"

Illumi slightly turned his head away. He had given up wondering why Hisoka could understand him so much long ago.

"So what? I don't want to be your toy." His voice was barely a whisper.

Hisoka's eyes were pasted on him for several seconds, then he chuckled, low and vicious.

"Want or not, it has already been that way."

"Whatever." Illumi turned and moved away. He hated to admit this, but he started to feel uncomfortable under the magician's stare.

Suddenly he was seized from behind. Illumi's hand quickly rose as he tried to loosen Hisoka's arm around his neck.

"If you want to die that much, why don't you just considering you're already dead. And from now on, you belong only to me." Hisoka whispered into his ear. "Not a bad idea, isn't it?".

"It is." Illumi managed to escape from Hisoka's hold. His voice was bitter, but harsh. "To fall into your hand is more horrible than death."

"Fine." Hisoka chuckled grimly. "Then try hard not to fall into my hand."

The silence dragged on heavily. Hisoka didn't bother him anymore, but deep inside, Illumi was grateful. He knew Hisoka enough to realize that the magician was encouraging him, in his own way.

He stole a glance at the magician, who was now returning to his attempt to break the cage imprisoning them. Since he met Hisoka, his life had become darker and darker. If only Hisoka had never existed, he would never have realized how dull his life had been. Illumi didn't know when it started, but just as naturally as breathing, one day he realized how bleak his life would become if Hisoka was no longer inside his world. However being around Hisoka couldn't make his mind contented. The unfamiliar hunger burning in his chest still couldn't be fulfilled, and Illumi was aware, maybe too clearly, that in the end, Hisoka would be bored. Sooner or later, he would be thrown away.

Illumi was too tired of being a puppet, but he didn't know how to escape from his life.

The bond of blood could never be broken. For the sake of the Zoldirks, he had walked to deep into the mud of crime and blood to be able to leave the road that had been chosen for him.

If only he could return to the beginning… What could give him the power to achieve the impossible?

"Why don't you try to take Idelian for your own? You will then be able to gain the power that exceeds the limit, the nen system that's far above perfection. With that much power, the Zoldirks will forever disappear under your hands."

The wind of the past tapped at his mind, carried with it a faint, sudden hope. Hisoka's words might not exactly what he wanted, but if the ancient artifact were that powerful...

Illumi frown, hand rose to his head as he steadied himself. He had just blacked out for no reason, and now his head was throbbing as if someone were constantly striking a hammer on it. Alarmed, he darted his eyes around, trying to see what was wrong, but in the end, only making himself even dizzier...

The next thing he knew, he was blinking up at Hisoka's face. A storm of emotions raged on the usual cold face, stunning him into silence. Worry, panic, anger and a faint sign of despair... all the feelings that Illumi could never think Hisoka was capable of.

It cost him several seconds to realize he had fallen and the magician had knelt down, pulling him into his arms. "Idiot! Of all the time! What make you suddenly want Idelian now?!?" Hisoka snarled.

His lips moved lightly, but no word could be formed. Illumi tried to raised his hand up, but couldn't. His body refused to listen to him, and the headache had become unbearable, slowly searing away all his thoughts...

……

"Wake up!" Hisoka's voice was like thunders. Illumi was shaken into awake, and immediately, he fell into a sea of pain. The pain had spread out to every corner of his body; it felt as if he were being torn apart by thousands of swords.

The worry on Hisoka's face had turned into anguish, but Illumi could hardly care now. He couldn't even scream, only trembling helplessly in agony.

The world was turning white... His last memory was being clutched tightly against a broad chest.

≈•≈

That evening, Kurapika left the hotel and headed to the L1 Wall. Just like he expected, along the wall, there was no place that didn't have at least a guard keeping watch and there were many groups of guards on patrol everywhere. Kurapika avoided the gate and approached the wall by its side.

Hidden behind a large, short needle-leaf tree, he observed the guards, thinking of a way to get in. He had prepared to fight if needed, but still he wanted to catch as little attention as possible.

Night came, covered everything with its dark velvet coat. The electric wall and the electric bars on the gate radiated a strong while-yellow light. However, the place where Kurapika stood was in darkness. He was at the edge of a small forest. There night wandered among dense trees and created a dark border, separating the security walls and the city.

It was only then his patience was rewarded. A guard left his position and headed to the tree border. Kurapika didn't know the reason, and didn't want to know the reason, but he quickly moved behind the trees to reach the guard. Kurapika jumped down from the branches and hit the guard on his neck in one swift stroke, knocking him out immediately. He tied the man and hid him behind a tree after removing his uniform.

The blond winced as he stared at the long sleeves. Even after rolling them up, the clothes still looked oversized on his small body. "At least it's better than nothing." He murmured, and left the trees to the main gate, hoping all the way that he didn't look too much suspicious.

The nearer Kurapika got to the gate, the more surprised he was. The security here was stricter than anywhere else, but among the guards, there are many people who didn't wear uniforms. They look just like normal people. He looked around, viewing everything carefully, and his heart sunk as he realized the uniform alone couldn't make him able to walk through the main gate. There was an electronic look on the left side of the gate. After a blue card being inserted into it, the electric bars will disappeared for a short moment, allowing the card owner to get pass.

"Kurapika!" Someone called his name from his left side. The voice sounded muffled as if that person was trying to suppress his surprise.

Kurapika turned around and saw Senritsu standing there, looking at him like he had grown two heads. He considered knocked her out, being afraid that she would blow off his disguise.

"Why are you here? Why are you in this uniform?"

He couldn't help realizing that even though Senritsu was apparently surprised, she had talked with a low voice, like she didn't want to attract any attention. An idea appeared in his head. Maybe he could use some help.

"Come with me." He said, and pulled her back to the trees.

"What happened?" Senritsu resumed her questions, her voice had returned to normal as they were now safe in the darkness. "Why are you wearing RTSS uniform?"

"I knocked out a guard." Kurapika said and pointed at the unconscious man not far from them.

"What..? But why?"

"I need your help. I want to get pass that gate."

Senritsu startled, and a moment later, Kurapika startled too at her sudden strong protest. "You can't. It's too dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" He repeated, sounding incredulous. "Because of the rumored curse? I don't believe in it!"

"No. Not like that!" Senritsu fell silent for a moment, then she continued, more slowly and calmer this time. "Do you see those people?" She pointed at the gate. "Almost all those who don't wear uniforms are hunters. We all came here for Rolrick Trasfery Mountain."

"I don't understand." Kurapika frowned. He didn't think so many people knew about Idelian.

"The two incidents at the security walls were all in the news. After that, many hunters flocked to this region, all for the same reason. No one knows what's in the mountain, but... Why is something protected? Because it is worth protecting. And normal people might not know the culprits in the second case, but among the hunters, who would not recognize the infamous magician and the assassin of the Zoldirks? So everyone assumed that what was hid on the mountain must be something very important, or very precious."

"And that's why you're here?"

"Yes. However when I arrived, I suddenly found out that I didn't want to get on the mountain at all. There is no exact reason. Just that I'm very... uneasy, and feel that something bad is about to happen. The mountain just seems very threatening and hostile. Well, I can't explain it clearly."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"In the first few hours, many hunters have broken through that gate. But there are also many hunters who share the same feeling with me. The RTSS guards are just normal people, they didn't stand a chance against professional hunters, and so they couldn't do anything except trying to persuade everyone to leave. In the end, the mayor hires us to stop other hunters from getting through."

"Why didn't I think of this?!? I should have gone right after I saw that article!"

"Kurapika!"

"Look, I know you're worried for me, but I need to reach the mountain. There is... a reason. I can't tell you now, but..."

"But-"

"My friends are already in there."

"..." Senritsu sighed. "I understand. I still don't think it's a good idea, but I will help you. Just..."

Kurapika asked impatiently as Senritsu fell silent for a long moment. "Just what?"

"Be safe and return." Senritsu said hesitantly. "I help you now, but I don't want my decision to come back and haunt me years later. I do consider you my friend, you know."

"..." Kurapika's face softened. He was moved by the woman's sincere feelings for him. "Thank you. I'll take care of myself." He said quietly.

"Now take off these uniforms. They look ridiculous on you." Senritsu pointed at the uniforms.

Kurapika looked down on what he was wearing. "But if I do that, how can I approach the gate?"

"Just trust me."

On the way back to the gate, Senritsu explained, "All Hunters that accept the mayor's offer are provided with security cards. So if you go with me, and I show them my card, no one will think about checking yours. However, the L2 gate is another matter. That's a gate made to never be opened. No one would open it for you, no matter what you give them."

His hand clenched around the chain. Kurapika nodded solemnly. "I understand. After that, I will do it my way."

"There's no need." Senritsu smiled.

"Why?"

"I can manage to give you five, or six minutes with no one being able to interrupt you. The gate controller is right next to it. During this time, set the electric power to turn off on automatic mode. This will leave the gate open. The electricity will turn on again after one or two minutes, enough for you to get pass the gate."

"How are you going to do that?"

"You'll see." Senritsu smiled again. "But the guard captain only told me that much about the gate. How to activate the controller and set it to automatic mode, you will have to deal with it on your own."

≈•≈

Greeting Illumi when he opened his eyes was only darkness. The pain had dimmed, but his body still aching, and he felt as if he was drifting slowly.

Had he died? Was this the realm of death?

Slowly he pushed himself up. The rough wood felt cold against his hands. A raft? After several minutes, his eyes adjusted to darkness, and he spotted the magician standing before him, rowing the raft with a long pole.

"How did we escape from that place?"

"That's your first question in such a beautiful night like this?"

"But that nen cage was unbreakable."

"There's nothing unbreakable, Illumi. Our nen cage, oh, it was such a perfect cubic. I could not do anything about its walls, but the joints where the walls connected to one another were a different matter. Just imagine how much pressure they must bear when the nen cage became smaller. I just push in there some nen, and then… Booom." Hisoka didn't turn to him, but his voice was playful.

"Keyword," Illumi murmured.

"I don't think I'm patient enough to bother with things like keywords."

"What happened back there? Who attacked us?"

"Nothing."

"It couldn't be nothing."

"You must experience the air pressure created when the nen walls closing on us. That's all."

'When you are not affected? I'm not that weak.' Illumi thought. He wanted to retort, but stayed silent instead. Whatever happened, the magician had decided not to tell him about it. Asking more would be futile.

His hand clutched at his chest. A sharp pain suddenly came and, just as suddenly, left. Remaining with him was a strong sense of loss and uncertainty. Hisoka had acted as if he cared. Had he imagined all of it? Why was the magician so cold, so distant now?

"We will get off here." Hisoka's words cut off his trail of thoughts. Together, they left the raft and got on the ground. Without saying anything, Hisoka started going farther from the bank. Illumi hesitated for several seconds, then followed the magician, the unfamiliar feelings still lingering in his heart.

Had he seen the place where Hisoka had stood... Blood soaked a large area on the wooden surface, turning it into a dark red color. Had he seen how Hisoka had used his body to shield him when the nen cage exploded… Illumi would have felt contented. But the night, always envious of bright daylight, wished to keep all secrets for her own, smiled cheerfully at the two people walking deep into her embrace.

Kurapika and Senritsu passed the L1 Gate easily. As they headed to the L2 Gate, Senritsu tore two cloth strips from her clothes and gave it to Kurapika. "When I start, clog your ears."

"For what... ah, I think I can guess."

The security at L2 Gate was as tight as L1, however, there were only RTSS guards watching here.

"Don't let them see you." Senritsu ordered, and gestured Kurapika to hide behind a huge ice rock. She approached the gate alone.

"Return." A guard told Senritsu. "We appreciate your help, hunter, but only RTSS guards are allowed to be here."

"I know." Senritsu didn't waver a little bit. "I don't intend to remain here long. Your captain knows it's hard for you to be on watch for such a long time, so I'm sent here to ease your tension."

Laughter erupted from the men. "You?" The guard that was talking with Senritsu eyed her in open disgust and belittlement. "With what?"

The man attitude made Kurapika wanted nothing more than breaking his neck. However, before he could leave his position, Senritsu had brought the flute to her lips. "With this." She smiled and started to blow.

It was the most beautiful music Kurapika had ever heard. Each note drifted in the air in a wordless lullaby, telling stories of faraway lands with lush meadows and glorious mountains. A peaceful and calm sensation rose in his chest. An inner voice was whispering into his ears, telling him to put down his weapons and lie down on the meadows, enjoying the joy that nature offer.

Something hard grazed at his left check, leaving a long gash. The pain brought him out of the tranquilized state, and a moment later, Kurapika was back to the dark snow-covered land. He looked down at the ice sharp smearing with blood on the ground and snapped his head up. Senritsu was still playing her flute, but she was glaring at him and slightly turned her head towards the control cabin beside the gate. Startled, he hastily pulled out the cloth streaks earlier and pushed them into his ears to block the music. The gash on his cheek was stinging, but at least the air was so cold that blood had already clotted. Kurapika glanced at the guards. Their eyes were dazed and there were stupid smiles on their faces. They were all deep lost in Senritsu's music to notice anything happened around them.

He took advantage of the situation and raced to the controller cabin. The controller looked unfamiliar to him, but only after a minute, Kurapika managed to figure out the way to turn off the gate's power on automatic mode. A second later, all electric bars on the gate disappeared.

Standing before the gate, Kurapika turned towards Senritsu and mouthed the word: "Thank you". Senritsu nodded without breaking the music. She looked sad, but her eyes told him to go.

"Now, where to go?" Kurapika murmured. The stone path looked endless, leading to darkness. He hesitated, then followed it, as it was his only clue now. Suddenly the dim light around him become bright. He turned around and found that the electricity that powered the gate had turned on. Kurapika pulled out the cloth in his ears. Senritsu's music had stopped. He didn't feel worry for the musician, as he knew that even if things went wrong, all the guards there could never be her opponents.

The bright light from the gate and the wall became weaker and weaker as he walked farther from them. His leg hit something, making him nearly trip over. Kurapika looked down and cried out as he saw a corpse.

"What is this?" He talked to himself in alarm and knelt down to examine the corpse. One of its arms fell across the road, the rest of its body lied outside, half buried in snow. The corpse's face twisted in terror. That's all what Kurapika could fount out, as there were no wounds.

A few stepped forwards, and Kurapika saw another corpse on the left side of the stone path. This man died when he was standing, and now he was frozen in that state. Kurapika stopped abruptly, realizing the clothes. "I saw him this morning!" He cried and ran to the dead man. This time Kurapika also couldn't find out the cause of the death, as the corpse had already been rotting, and rotting in a terrible way.

As he went farther, he became more and more agitated. There were so many corpses all around the road. Each person died in a different way, but there were several things in common. Terror had left such a strong impression on the twisted faces. From their stances, Kurapika could tell all these hunters were obviously running back to the gate.

'Among them... Could there be Leorio and Killua?'

The world stopped. A horrible feeling spread out in his heart. Kurapika didn't know when he left the road and started running. He was only aware that he was racing among corpses, trying desperately to see the faces of the dead. Plagued by fear and worry, he didn't even realized that if he continued to run, a few minutes later, he would be in total darkness.

Something crashed into him. Kurapika felt backwards. An arm circled his waist, stopping him from falling.

"Kurapika!" Joy made that voice trembled. Kurapika also trembled. The voice belonged to...

"Leorio..." He whispered and looked up.

"What? Kurapika is here?" The sound of footsteps could be heard from his right. Killua ran to them with a flashlight on his hand.

"Thank God. You're safe." Leorio squeezed him to his chest.

"I..." Any word was stuck in his throat. Hesitantly, Kurapika raise his arms and returned Leorio's embrace.

Leorio froze, maybe the man was too shock at his response, but Leorio recovered quickly and tighten his hold.

Kurapika closed his eyes. He knew he would regret his action later. However at that moment, the joy and relief were so great that everything else was washed away. His friends were here. They were still alive. And that was all what mattered.

The three hunters continued their way, following the stone road. All the joy of their reunion, all the stories of what had happened after they were separated, all the theories of what had happened to the corpses had been told, and now they walked in silence.

"Look!" Killua cried and pointed at a tiny glow of light far before them. "Let's go there!"

Kurapika stopped walking. He knew that glow of light was their destination, because even from this distance, he sensed the faint nen trace of Hisoka, of Illumi, of someone he did not know, and of... Kuroro. The event of the pass few days had allowed him to push his emotions for that man under the surface, but now... Just a faint sign of his presence was enough to kindle the flame of longing and desire hidden in his heart.

"What's wrong?" Leorio asked. The man had turned back and looked at him questioningly.

"Nothing." Kurapika shook his head slightly. He must be stronger if he wanted to see the end of this search. What else could he defeat if he could not defeat himself?

≈•≈

There was a noise. Machi turned to the door and saw Shalnark leaning to the door frame.

"What happened?" Shizuku ran to him. The young man looked battered, with bruises and cuts all over his body.

"That linguist is quite an opponent." Shalnark smiled.

"Is ? I thought we agreed that we won't let him live?" Machi asked incredulously.

Shalnark just shrugged.

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"Well, I nearly did. But before I could do anything, his wife ran to us."

"And?"

"She hugged him, and started talking. I think she talked about justice, light and friendship or so, but I'm not sure. She talked and talked, in our language, but I can't understand a thing she said."

"That's just to confuse you."

"I know. But when I realized that and stopped trying to understand what the hell she was saying, they had already disappeared. I search everywhere, but..."

"That will be a problem." Machi frowned.

Shalnark stepped into the room and looked around. Computers were everywhere, and a huge one lied in the center. His companion had prepared everything that he told them to. Ignoring his wounds, he dropped himself before the largest computer.

"Don't worry." He said while turning it on. "With those injuries, I don't think they have time to tell others about the pendant. At least for a while."

"I hope so." Shizuku said. "Have you had the last one?"

"Yes. And now I'm sure I'm correct about the pendants."

≈•≈

"How can fire burn on snow?" Leorio wondered out loud.

"Special oil. Must be that" Killua answered.

They were the only ones that were still chatting around the fire. From time to time, they glanced at their new companion in amazement. Hisoka, Illumi, Kuroro had all arrived. There was another person with them, Roy.

Sitting a little far from their companions, Kurapika also stared at the newcomer in jealousy and disgust. Different hair color, different eye color... Other than that, Roy looked exactly like him. The young man sat right beside Kuroro. His hair was slightly tousled, several buttons undone, and he looked relaxed and satisfied, maybe too much.

A replacement...

He was not a child. He understood perfectly what it meant.

Kurapika felt sick. His heart had turned into ice in his chest.

TBC...


	10. Yesterday

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 10: Yesterday**

The doctor was the only one sleeping. The little Zoldirk assassin watched his brother like he was on guard. The brother watched Hisoka, who was playing with his cards, as usual. Roy was just simply sitting there, staring at nothing. Kurapika had his eyes closed, but his breath was not even, a sign showing that he was still awake.

Kuroro, well, Kuroro was mad enough to kill someone. He was angry with everyone, except Kurapika, with just vague, nonsensical reasons. He was angry with the doctor and the little Zoldirk, because they claimed to be the blonde's friends, and yet they didn't show any worry when they saw the long gash on the blonde's cheek. He was angry with Hisoka as Hisoka was strong, and yet he let Kurapika be wounded. He was angry with Illumi, just because Illumi was Killua's brother. He was angry with Roy because Roy dared to pull off that trick, making Kurapika believe there was something between him and Roy. He was angry with himself, because he couldn't do anything.

Inside, he was raging with fury. But outside, his face stayed as expressionless as ever.

His eyes widened. Kurapika's breath had become slow and steady; the boy had fallen asleep.

'At last.' A small smile came to his lips.

≈•≈

Someone who looked just as like him, a replacement...

Somewhere in his heart, he knew he lost something. Bitterness rose to the point that it made him want to vomit. Never had he thought there was a day he would feel this much betrayal from his arch enemy.

_Why does he do that? Why does he seek someone beside me? The leader of the Genei Ryodan is that mediocre? But... _

This unbearable feeling was crawling in his chest, clawing, tearing, and hurting him. He hurt. He hurt so much, and felt so alone. He didn't have the courage to tell anyone about his pain, so he struggled all alone in his own battle. Leorio and Killua were right beside him, but they were also too far away. Kurapika shifted his position, pulling his knees to his chest, one hand clutching at his chest, the other arm warping around his legs. Loneliness was the fate of anyone who carried the will to revenge, he knew it too well. However, now when even his enemy seemed to lost interest in him, Kurapika realized he didn't want to be alone, not anymore.

The fire was flickering, its red-yellow light reflected in his eyes. Slowly, he drifted back to a forbidden memory...

≈ **flash back **≈

The strong wind blew through the broad grassland, carrying with it the smell of the river, and of fresh grass. A blond boy at the age of twelve or fourteen was running to the top of the hill. Faraway, the sun was hovering on the mountains; its dim sunrays lightened up the boy's carefree and happy face. He was laughing and his eyes were twinkling, it was as if he was carrying with him all the joy in the world. Suddenly he crashed into something and would have tumbled to the ground if someone didn't grab his hand and pulled him up.

"Are you all right, little girl?" The "strange thing" asked in a polite and reserved voice.

"I'm not a girl!". A red gleam sparkled in his eyes, though only for a short moment. They boy hadn't learned how to control his power yet. Besides, in this world, if there were something he hated most, it was being mistaken for a girl.

"Oh … I see … Sorry! So are you all right?"

The boy didn't answer; he was too busy staring at the other, a young handsome man with dark short hair, wearing dark clothes. He had never met this man before, which was strange since the town he was living in was small; almost everyone knew one another. On the other hand, there were many traps and danger on the way to the town, so no one from neighboring regions dared to visit Rukuso Valley without a Kuruta guide.

"Who are you?" The blond boy asked.

The stranger smiled. His smile was so beautiful that even though the blond was only a child, he was still captivated. "I'm just a simple traveler... on the way to find beauty... I think."

"How can one travel to find things like that? What have you found?"

"Hmm… Let's see. First, I find this glorious scene." The man sat down on the grass, facing the sunset. "The twilight sun is exactly like a cake, and these far mountains look like huge jaws open wide."

The boy laughed out loud at that comment. Sometimes he also had that thought when watching the sunset. It made him forget that the man was just a stranger. He dropped himself down beside the man. "You said the first. What about the second?"

"Oh!" The man smiled again. His smile was like an angel's.

"The second is you."

"Huh?"

"You're very cute, little boy."

"I'm not little. And definitely not cute! I'm manly!" The boy fumed.

"Right. You're so big!" The man laughed lightly. "But you're cute anyway. Especially your eyes. They're magnificent when they turn crimson."

The boy felt his face heated. But he wasn't a girl; he wouldn't blush, would he. Oh no, he did! Just seeing that playful gleam in the man's eyes, he knew he did blush. But it was not his fault. In his clan, the red eye color was normal, so no one had ever praised him for that.

"It's a special trait of the Kuruta clan." The boy bragged. "When we have strong emotions, like anger for example, our eyes will turn into that color."

"The whole clan? That's cool." The man lifted his eyebrows. "I still don't know your name. I'm Lucifer. Nice to meet you, little boy."

"I'm Kurapika. And I'm not a little boy!"

≈•≈

**Two days later.**

"So beautiful!" Kurapika tossed a green crystal bird in his hands excitedly. "Almost like a gem".

"Hmm? It's really made from a gem. A large emerald." Lucifer replied absent-mindedly, caressing the soft blond curls.

Kurapika leaned comfortably to the man's chest. It had only been several days, but Lucifer had already become one of his most favorite people. "So it must be expensive, right?"

"More than a fortune." Lucifer chuckled faintly.

"Then why do you give it to me?"

"... No reason. I want to. That's all."

"Here." Kurapika pulled the hand that was combing his hair down and placed the emerald bird on it. "I won't take this."

"Why?" Lucifer looked down at the boy sitting on his lap in surprise. "But you like it, don't you?"

"But I'm a boy. This toy is only for girls!" Kurapika pouted.

Lucifer took a small silver-like sword from his pocket. "Then what's about this?"

The sword was only an ornament, but it was so perfect. On its blade, there was a small picture of armor-clad paladins on their way to war. These patterns were so thin and tiny that they could only be craved by a top-class craftsman. Playing with the small sword on his hand, Kurapika couldn't help but admiring the other. "You must be very rich. What do you do?"

Silence, then a sigh. "You won't want to know."

"Why?"

Lucifer just shrugged.

"Is it really mine?"

"Yes." Lucifer continued to caress the soft blond hair, smiling softly and almost dreamily. "You're only a child. Just a little child. Then why do I..."

"Lucifer?"

"It's almost like I've known you for ages..."

"I don't understand?"

Lucifer sighed. "You don't understand? But of course. I don't understand either. Why do I come here? I suppose it's to meet you?"

Kurapika frowned. He didn't understand anything, but suspicion \ didn't have any place in the mind of a twelve-year-old boy. A moment later, he had forgotten all about that strange talk as he was too busy playing with his new toy.

≈•≈

**The seventh day **

It was getting dark. Kurapika looked sullen. It was time for him to part with Lucifer. In the past week, he came to the hill every afternoon even though the distance between his town and the hill was quite great. The road was also rough, as he had to avoid the many traps on the way carefully. But he was happy, because Lucifer was always there when he arrived, always waiting for him.

"I think it's time you come back." Lucifer stood up.

"Hey, why don't you come to my town?" Kurapika also sprang to his feet and clutched Lucifer's sleeves when the man started to walk away.

Lucifer froze. His hand trembled, though only in a second. He turned back and looked down at Kurapika. "Well, the road that leaded to your town's valley is too complicated. Without a guide, there's no way I can make it. And if you let strangers into your town, you will be scolded, won't you?"

"It's all right! The clan's leader is my father. I will show you the way!"

Suddenly, Lucifer knelt down before Kurapika and placed a finger on the boy's lips. "Don't say anything. Just don't. Isn't it better if everything just continues like this?"

If only Kurapika was old enough to realize the color of despair emerging in those eyes. But at that moment, he was only a child. All the despair in the world could not compare with the disappointment he would feel if Lucifer didn't visit his hometown. Still excited with his own plan, Kurapika dug out a crumbled piece of paper from his pocket and slipped it into Lucifer's hand. "I've drawn a map. Look! These dots are the traps, and this line is the correct path that leaded to the town. You will have to get through the mountain, but just follow it and avoid these dots; you will arrive at my town."

"I..." Lucifer's voice sounded choked.

"What's wrong?" Kurapika asked, confused.

Suddenly Lucifer hugged him tightly, so tightly that it was almost like Lucifer was afraid he would disappear like a smoke if the man let him go.

"Lucifer?"

≈•≈

**The eighth day**

The next afternoon, Kurapika climbed on the hill as usual. He had been so sure that Lucifer was already there, waiting for him. But that day, there was no sign of the man. Kurapika was so disappointed. He lied down on the grass and waited... and felt asleep... When he waked up, the night had already come. Shocked, he jolted up and hastily ran back to his hometown. He had never come home late, as he knew his father never tolerated that action.

He carefully weaved his way through the stone maze protecting the valley, then followed the tunnel in the mountain, the path that leaded to his town. The hurt because Lucifer didn't come was temporally pushed back, replaced with the fear of being shouted at. Just as he came out of the tunnel, he stopped dead on his track. Even though night had come, his town was lightened up so brightly, and in such a twisted, abnormal way.

Fire... Fire was everywhere. Many columns of smoke rose high into the sky. Kurapika flew to his town, his heart raced wildly in his chest. He could understand nothing, he could think of nothing, just praying in vain that nothing happened, that everyone was safe.

Memories of his people, alive, cheerful and happy flashed through his mind as he walked on the streets in a daze. Houses after houses writhed in burning flame. Corpses scattered all around, deformed and maimed. His people died in various ways, but there was one thing in common, in the places of their eyes were only empty holes.

_It cannot be... Why? Everyone?_

Kurapika fell to his knees before a dead body. Its head was chopped off, and had rolled over to its left hand. "Dad..." He whispered, unable to voice out the word. The heat from the flame faded. All noises faded. Shock paralyzed all his senses, all his emotions. He felt no fear, no anguish, just like he was floating from high above looking down at this nightmare.

_It just cannot be real... _

But the empty holes in the places of the eyes were still drilling into his mind...

"K…u…r…a……….." The familiar voice made him snapped his head up.

"Mom!" Kurapika ran to her. She was wounded gravely on her stomach.

"Lower... your voice... I looked for you everywhere... Hide... Ryodan... too strong..."

"Let's escape together, Mom!"

"Too late!" His mother pushed him into a large crack on the wall nearby and used all her remaining nen to form a seal protecting it. She dragged herself away from the crack, wanting to divert all attention away from it.

"No! Mom! Let me out!" His desperate cries couldn't help is mother. A sword thrust into her chest and came out of her back. Her body jerked once, then fell limped. Someone pulled out the sword, and quickly took the eyeballs out of her eyes.

"Stop! Barstard! Leave her alone!" Kurapika screamed and pounded at the seal his mother created.

The seal had prevented all noise from coming out, but the killer looked up. Eyes meet eyes. All words died on his lips and his entire world turned into ice.

_It cannot be... It cannot be him..._

But standing before him was unmistakably Lucifer. A flame sword was burning in his hand. His clothes were all drenched in blood.

Finally Kurapika understood. And with that realization, emotions rushed back to him all at once. Hurt, fear, loss, anguish... The mixed feeling was a storm, crushing his heart and making his eyes blurry.

At that moment, when tears fell freely as he realized he was betrayed, Kurapika was painfully aware that his childhood had ended, ended with the departure of those he loved most... His father, his mother and... Lucifer...

Lucifer stopped before him.

The sword on his hand rose.

≈ _**end flash back **_≈

The freezing breeze woke Kurapika up. The fire went out. No one bothered to kindle it as the morning would soon come. A dim light drifted in the air, gloomy and almost sorrowful.

Both Killua and Leorio were still deep in sleep. Hisoka was finally fed up with his cards. The magician was now standing with his back turning to their camp, looking at something far away, something that only he knew. Illumi stared at the burnt-out fire aloofly and expressionlessly. In his cold attitude, there was something sullen. Roy was nowhere to be seen. And Kuroro...

His eyes rested on Kuroro.

Kuroro was reading. He was so lost in his book that it was as if to him there was nothing worth caring.

The crimson color faintly reflected in Kurapika's eyes. He shuddered and hugged himself tighter, his chin rested on his knees. Not now. He must not lose his self-control now.

Kuroro was the same. Meeting each other again after over five years... Kuroro surely didn't change a little bit. Still that face, that coat, that confident and arrogant form.

_What about me...?_

_I've changed so much..._

_He doesn't look at me once. Is it because I'm no longer that carefree, innocent child?_

Kurapika closed his eyes, feeling more lost than ever.

_But because of whom that I change? Because of whom that I have to live a wandering life in all those years? Because of whom that I, a happy, carefree child, had to fight for survival alone and disgraced when I was only twelve years old?_

How miserable he was in those days... No relatives, no money, no where to return, never once tasted the ruthlessness and brutality of the world of adults... He had started his very first steps into adulthood like that. No one gave him a helping hand. No one wanted to hire a twelve year old child. He could believe no one. He had no one to trust. His pride didn't allow him to reduce to a beggar, and plain water could never do much for a hungry stomach. The will to revenge was his only comfort and his only hope.

_I thought I had buried those days deep in my memories. I thought I could leave the past behind, but... but how can I...?_

Tears were stinging in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Yes, how could he forget... the nights sleeping on the pavements or under the eaves of unfamiliar houses... the effort to shield himself from cold, heavy raindrops... the bruises and scratches from fighting off filthy, unwanted hands... the pain and shame when standing in the auction of his people's eyes, without money to buy them, without strength to take them by force... If he had not been a warrior trained even from birth, he would have been broken.

_The pain... the guilt... the hatred... the gashes on my wrists... the despair in my soul..._

_I had fallen to such a dark place. In those moments, when I was alone, abandoned by the whole world... where was he then?_

_A day for becoming acquaintances. A week for becoming sweethearts. A lifetime for hatred. Stop being so soft. Make up your mind. The pain you have tasted is enough to make you drunken. Just a little more, it doesn't matter. I died that day... anyway..._

Killua stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Is it the morning yet?" The young assassin asked, his voice tired and sleepy. Kurapika's thoughts were disrupted. He bit back a sigh and turned to Killua.

"Yes, I think so. Let's wake Leorio up."

"But now that we have made it here, what should we do next?"

Roy returned from wherever he had gone to. He walked to the burnt-out fire and picked up his bag. "That moment will soon come. It's time we stepped into the Center of the World."

"That moment?" Killua repeated. "What do you mean?"

"You don't need to know." Roy just shrugged the boy off. "Now we need to get to the place where all keywords point to as quick as possible."

≈•≈

" Here." Shinzuku handed a thin piece of paper to Shalnark. On it was the mark of something round with patterns on it. "When I arrived, Danchou had gone. The heat had faded, but it had left on the stone these cravings."

"We have all the pieces." Shalnark put the paper down beside the keyboards before a large screen. Behind it was a huge computer created by many small ones. "The broken pieces of two pendants in the hotel where the doctor had stayed. One broken pendant in the underground cell at York Shin. One pendant on the brat's chest. And now this."

"Will we be able to recreate the clues that Danchou's group has?" Feitan asked.

"If I'm not wrong, there is no clue."

"???" All Ryodan members gathering around Shalnark looked surprised. "If so then why Danchou group put so much effort in trying to find and decipher them?"

"I don't know." Shalnark shrugged. "May be it's because they believe them to be clues in the first place. So they just try to follow it. That's all."

"How can you be so sure?" Machi wondered.

Shalnark connected the last two electric lines to each other and turned on the main computer. The large screen lit up. "At first, I didn't think so, but when I tried to recreate the original forms of the two pendants of the doctor and the Zoldirk brat, I found something interesting."

"Have you recreated them?"

"Yes. I took photograph of all the pieces. One pendant was rustier than the other, so I could separate them well. Then I found a program to find the pieces that match best to a piece. Repeated that process for all the pieces, I got this result." Shalnark clicked on two files on the screen. Two images were opened.

"They're exactly like round shape engraved into the stone!" Shinzuku exclaimed, remember the paper she gave Shalnark.

"And it's exactly like the pendant on the brat's chest."

Shalnark opened another image. "And this is the recreated image of the pendant we found in the underground cell. No difference." Shalnark turned to his companions. "Do you think it's strange? If Kuroi hired them to decipher the clues on the pendants and find whatever they were finding then why did he separate them and placed into their hands the clues that are all the same? And if Kuroi kept that brat as a hostage, why did he make that brat wear a pendant? Why does he never care that the pendants have been broken?"

"There's only one explanation. Those pendants have never been clues." Machi replied.

"Exactly!"

"Then what are they for?"

"I wondered too." Shalnark turned back to the computer and opened a program. He loaded the image file of one of the pendants. "Then when I played around with these images, I noticed something. If we adjust the brightness and contract, reduce the noise and..."

"Hey, you don't have to tell us all that, you know." Shinzuku complained. "It's not like we understand anyway."

Shalnark just smiled, but he did stop explaining his process. He only showed the other members his result when he finished. "Here, after you finish enhancing the picture, you'll see some lines appear on it. These lines are faint, but definitely there. Out of curiosity, I cut one pendant apart following these lines to get some new pieces. Then I discovered that each piece has its edges fit with several other pieces different from the original pieces. I thought that was strange, so I used the same program to rearrange them."

Shalnark loaded the image files of all four pendants at the same time and turned on auto-run mode. "The process is quite complicated, though we have this many computers, it will take us a while."

The progress bar under an image completed after about ten minutes. The other images all finished being processed several minutes later. All the Ryodan members stared at them, amazed. Being arranged in a new way, the pieces had formed new round shapes, each carrying a similar large word in the middle.

"It's the same language with the letters on the original pendants so I had brought it to the linguist to check. Do you know what it means?" Shalnark turned to the other members, his face grim and serious.

"_Sacrifice."_

≈•≈

By noon, they reached a large clearing halfway up the mountain. Here they had to stop, as there was a huge light wall ahead, blocking the way.

"What is that? Is it another nen cage?" Leorio asked, panting heavily. He was the only one who got tired.

"Nen cage?" Roy lifted his eyebrows. "Well, you could say so. This is the protection shield of this holy mountain." He pointed at a large, altar-like rock with flat surface. "If we want to get pass it, we need to activate the gate."

Kurapika approached the rock and brushed away the heavy dust layer on its surface. Under the dust, there were patterns carved into the rock. These patterns formed a large circle with many strange letters on its border. "Ancient letters of the Kuruta clan!" Kurapika cried out in surprise.

"Can you read it?" Roy asked. Worry flickered in his eyes, but Kurapika didn't realize that.

Kurapika shook his head. "I only guess they're my clan's ancient letters, as I realize the letters in the middle are the same as those on my pendant. Except that, I understand nothing."

Relief was clearly in Roy's voice and it made Kurapika skeptical, but he didn't have the chance to ask as Roy took his wrist. "I need blood to activate it. Kurapika, can I have yours."

"No, let me." Leorio quickly snatched Kurapika's wrist out of Roy's hand.

"…"

"What?"

"It cannot be you." Roy replied.

"Why?"

"You're too old. Kurapika, come here."

"But then Killua will be fine!" Leorio cried. A gash on the cheek, that was more than enough. He didn't want Kurapika to have any more wounds.

"How nice of you." Killua grumbled.

Kurapika pushed Leorio away and scolded. "Enough" He gave Roy his hand and let Roy slashed a hallow cut on his palm. Roy guided him to let the blood drip on the circle's border.

As blood filled the circle's border, the ground abruptly trembled.

"It starts." Roy said quietly. A part of the light wall disappeared, creating what seemed like a door. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Kurapika cried.

"What's the matter?" Roy turned to him.

Kurapika hesitated. He was still uneasy when facing with Roy. It was true that their hair and eyes' colors were different, but aside from that... It felt like facing a mirror, even their voices were almost the same.

"I want to make something clear." Kurapika regained his calmness. "Where are you taking us to?"

"Idelian…The center of the world."

"The center of the world. Those five words can't tell anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to know more about Idelian."

Roy stayed silent; Kurapika stepped in front of him.

"Why does Kuroi want Idelian? I think there are 4 possibilities.  
1. Idelian is a treasure cave: jewelry, artifact, gold...  
2. Idelian is a place where the air is fresh and everything blooms.  
3. Idelian is the secret of immortality.  
4. Idelian is a power that can help one to push his nen to, or pass the limit.  
I think 3 and 4 are more likely than 1 and 2."

"Well, we're heading to Idelian, so you'll know soon."

"What I want to know is how he can be sure that we will hand over Idelian to him when we find it."

"Are you crazy? He has Gon!" Killua interrupted.

"That's right. But with Gon, he can only control Leorio, Killua and me. What about Kuroro, Illumi and Hisoka? So what's he going to do? Waits until we have "that", and then appears and kills all of us? How can he be sure that he can kill all of us, especially if Idelian is the secret of the nen system? I don't think he would take that much risk."

"So?" Roy wasn't affected by Kurapika's words.

"I want to know what Kuroi plans. I won't continue if you don't tell me."

"If you don't continue, your little friend will die."

"I don't deny that to me, Gon is too important to lose. But Kuroi also need us. All of us are chosen from the very start. Without anyone among us, he would not be able to get his hands on Idelian. So I want a fair exchange. Let Gon go."

"Exchange for what?"

"Leorio, Killua and I will follow this quest till the end as long as you let Gon go."

"There will be no need for that. You will go. And we won't set that boy free." Roy's voice suddenly turned fierce.

"Why?"

"Because we don't need you as much as you think. Kuroi and I chose the candidates for this quest randomly, and anyone can be replaced." Roy turned to Hisoka. "So Hisoka, in the beginning, we did want to choose Gon instead of you, didn't we?"

"That's right." Hisoka agreed.

"That's how it is, boy. No one is irreplaceable. " Roy looked back to Kurapika. "I also don't know what will happen when we reach Idelian. Continue or stop here, it's all your decision."

Leorio, Killua and Kurapika stayed silent. They knew they had only one choice.

"Kuroi doesn't tell me everything. But he doesn't hide there would be danger either. I'll go." Hisoka said with his usual joking tone.

Illumi's eyes moved from Roy to Hisoka, then he nodded.

"Let's go." Kuroro's words were clearly his answer.

They started walking through the light wall. Roy was the first in the line, his head slightly bowed as he tried to calm himself down. _The boy is clever, but also so naive. That's right. Among us, any one can be replaced. Except him... Except him and that person. Sorry boy, but I must reach Idelian. I must reunite with that person. _The violet eyes closed and opened. Just for a second, in those deep was clearly the legendary crimson shade, the color that existed only in the eyes of the Kuruta clan's members.

Kurapika also walked with his head bow, though for another reason. He was depressed as he knew his negotiation had failed. The more he thought about this strange quest, the more he seemed to understand Kuroi's plan. If Kuroi didn't worry about having to face them when they found Idelian, it only meant one thing: by that time, they would no longer be a threat.

Whatever would happen, it would not be something pleasant. Kurapika looked up at the gloomy sky, feeling torn by the helplessness and faint despair he was feeling. And if there were no way around it, he had thought... he had thought he would be able to confront Roy and make sure Gon would be safe no matter what happened.

Something slid over his shoulders. A coat. Kurapika startled and looked to his side. Kuroro was smiling; the warmth in that smile was enough to turn his world upside down.

But it was the light in those eyes that sent shivers down his spine. Those eyes... He had seen them before...

... on Reficul's face.

≈•≈

Weaving in the cold winds, rustling among the needle leaves, gliding over the snowy slopes was a faint whisper. One could never hear it, as it was the sound that could only be felt with one's soul...

_"Fools... truly fools... What meaning can Idelian has if you must die to see it... and those who survive will have to stand before me... I, the Creator. I, who give and take..."_

The game of God started... Or had it started long ago...?

≈•≈

**TBC...**


	11. The trap of one's mind

Idelian

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 11: The trap of one's mind**

_**Part 1**_

"Kuroro!" Kuroro turned back, surprised that Kurapika had called his name. The blond remained on the same spot where he had given him the coat, a worried look on his face.

"What's the matter?"

"Are you..."

"What?"

Kurapika bit his lips, looking torn between wanting to ask and wanting to leave. Kuroro waited patiently, but in the end, the blond just sighed. "Nothing. We'll soon enter the forest. Roy says this is the first trial."

"The first trial? What do you mean?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know." Kurapika said and walked pass him.

≈•≈

It was such a strange forest, Kurapika noted. All around them were needle –leaf trees, which remained verdant despite the harsh weather. Their green leaves was frosted, but still looked full of vitality. The fog around them was not thick at first, but as they went deep into the forest, it soon prevented them to see their surroundings clearly. Leorio was walking in front of him, but Kurapika didn't even see the man's back.

Suddenly he heard Roy's cry. "Look out!"

Killua and Leorio's screams soon followed and Kurapika's heart leaped. He ran faster towards the end of the line, alarmed and worried as everyone was suddenly no where to be seen.

The fog made it even hard to see the ground under his feet, and Kurapika had to rely on feeling the cold barks of the trees around to find his way. "Killua! Leorio! Where are you?!" He had been searching for his friend for at least ten minutes, but answering his call was only the rustling sound of the wind. Kuroro and the others all disappeared without a trace. After about an hour of searching in vain, worry started to change into panic.

Suddenly there was a loud noise ahead, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. A body? Kurapika tensed and moved slowly towards that direction.

There was a tearing sound. Kurapika's sleeve was torn, being caught by something. He was on his guard at first, but soon relaxed as he realized it was only a sharp branch. He ignored it and continued to go straight. After a while, he came into a clearing. The fog was dispersing slowly, returning to him his vision.

A warm and sticky water drop hit his face, then another. Warm? In this freezing weather? Kurapika frowned, tracing his fingers on his wet skin, and then stared at them in horror as he realized they were coated in a layer of red fluid. Blood. He looked up.

"Killua! Leorio!" Kurapika stared at the two bodies hanging on the tree on his left in horror. There were many wounds, and there was gaping holes in the places of their hearts. A thick chain wrapped around them, shackled their bodies to the tree. The fog had almost disappeared, allowing Kurapika to see farther, and he discovered not far from the tree were Roy, Hisoka and Illumi's corpse, all died in the same way.

What happened? Who on earth could be strong enough to kill them Kurapika pressed a hand on his chest, trying to calm his heavy breath. He tensed and dread filled every corner of his mind as his gaze continued farther. There was another body hanging on the next tree, and this time it was...

"KURORO!" He screamed. There were not many wounds on Kuroro's body, and the clothes at the place of his heart were soaked in blood. He was also hanging from the tree by a thin, but strong chain.

_Is he still alive? But those wounds... Has he died? Die not by MY hands? Who on earth..."_

Time stopped. Fleeting through Kurapika's mind was the bloody scene that had engraved into his memory. The wind of the past blow at his face in full force, carrying with it the agony he had felt in that fateful night. Kurapika fell to his knees, clutching the front of his shirt.

_It hurt so much... It doesn't matter who kills him. He has paid for his crime. I should feel happy. I should..._

A tear rolled down his cheek, then another. Kurapika knew he was still calm, but his tears kept flowing. Just like the day when he lost everything. He didn't know he had moved but when he was aware of it, he had already stood under Kuroro's body. The chain was fading, like it was created from nen. When it disappeared, the corpse plunged down right before him. Kurapika lifted Kuroro's head, staring almost mesmerized at the thin line of blood trickling from his mouth.

"Kuroro..." Kurapika called softly, his voice choked.

_What am I waiting for? That Kuroro is not dead? But that's right. If Kuroro dies, it must be by my hands. I have the right! No one else! Is it why I feel so angry right now? Is it why I am seeing the world through this layer of red? _

A noise came from his back. Kurapika startled and sprang to his feet, swirling around. A young man was standing there, looking at him. The blond hair was swaying in the weak wind. The Kuruta tunic couldn't hide the chain on his hand. A long gash was visible on his left check.

Not like Roy, this person was a perfect copy of Kurapika.

"Who are you?" Kurapika asked in surprise.

"Why do you ask? You always come to me for help, don't you?"

"I don't know you." Kurapika shook his head.

"You know me." The other Kurapika smiled. "It's only that you haven't realized my existence. Not yet."

"I don't understand…"

"It's all right, since I will explain to you everything. I am you. Or to be more correct--" The other Kurapika got closer to him. Staring into his eyes was the same color of blood. "I am THE SHADOW OF YOUR SOUL, Kurapika."

≈•≈

Kuroro was lost. After Kurapika ran ahead of him, soon the fog became thick, and he had lost sight of everyone else. Surrounded by mist, he went forth using his instinct, and as a result, the more he went, the worse he was lost. In the end, he decided that he would use his nen to find the way. However, among the techniques that Kuroro had stolen, there was none that can be used to solve this problem. The closet searching technique was using nen to find objects, and that object also had to have Kuroro's fingerprint on it. But how could there be anything like that on the other six?

"But of course!" Kuroro remembered something and smiled to himself. "The coat. The coat Kurapika's wearing is mine. So at least I can find him." He opened his book to the technique's page but had no time to use it, as...

A sharp noise, something was tearing the air with incredible speed. Out of pure instinct, he jumped back, barely avoiding being hit by a chain. The chain continued to slash at him, forcing him to counter-attack. The chain was hit by Kuroro's nen and crashed to the ground, it quickly returned to its owner.

"Kurapika?" The attacker was Kurapika? It was true that Kurapika wanted him dead, and he knew it, be he was still caught off guard as behind Kurapika were...

"Shalnark? Machi? Coltopi? Shizuku? Feitan? What are you doing here?"

"Danchou. You choose. The chain guy or us?" Machi demanded in an icy voice.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroro repeated. "And even going with the chain-user?"

"It's not important." Kurapika said. "Answer Machi."

Kuroro looked at Kurapika in surprise. Why did Kurapika wanted him to answer that question? And why was he working with the other Ryodan members? The Ryodan and Kurapika were supposed to loath each other, weren't they? And there was no way the rest of the Ryodan would just stand there watching him being attacked. What was happening?

"Who do you choose?" Kurapika's tone was flat, but still threatening.

Something was off about him, Kuroro frowned, and then realized. "Where is the coat?" He asked with a cold smile on his lips.

"What?"

"Where is my coat?"

"What coat?" Kurapika didn't look like he was lying.

That tearing sound again, but this time it was Machi who attacked him with her threads. "Machi will never attack me. Who are you?"

The six people surrounded Kuroro didn't reply to his question. "The answer. Give us." They just demanded.

≈•≈

"What? The shadow of my soul?" Kurapika repeated incredulously.

"It seems you can't remain calm because of his death." The clone said. "Why? It IS your wish."

"My wish? What are you saying?"

"Your wish is my command. You want him dead. So I make him dead."

Kurapika nearly yelled, fueled by his anger. "Yes! I want him dead, but it must be by my hands. And what about the others? What about my friends? I do not want them to be hurt!"

"Oh, but you WANT." The clone didn't change his expression. "You suffer. So you want others to suffer like you. I am you. Only I understand."

_What? This is my wish? He's lying. I can't have that wish. But... is it the truth? Kurapika_ pressed both hands on his temple, feeling like he was about to get crazy. _I am jealous of Gon and Killua, as they can play with each other so happily while between me and Kuroro, there can only be hatred. I am jealous of Leorio as he doesn't have to carry the past as a burden. I am jealous of Hisoka and Illumi as they are so strong. If I had their strength, I would be able to avenge my people. What about Roy? What was I jealous of him? Because he is too like me?_ Too many thoughts rushed to him at once, making him feel dizzy.

"You are right. You ENVY all of them. How can they be happy when you cry alone in darkness? What I did is only bringing your wish to the light." Each of the clone's word was like a knife slicing Kurapika's heart.

"That's not right…" He screamed. "I might envy them, but I do not want them dead! Everyone has his own burden!"

"No. You want them to bleed. That's your nature, selfish and cruel!" The clone's last words angered Kurapika. He attacked the clone with his chain. The clone didn't dodge; he only smiled as the chain wrapped around him.

"So? Am I right? But I will give you this advice. Do not try to kill me. I am you. Kill me, you die."

Ignoring the warning, Kurapika didn't stop his attack. The blade at the end of the chain aimed at the clone's heart. He must die, because he had killed Killua and Leorio, and most important, because he had killed KURORO...

Blood splashed all over the snow. The chain returned to its owner, having completed its murderous mission. The clone crashed to the ground, and slowly disappeared, but Kurapika also staggered. He clutched at the front of his shirt where a red stain was spreading out. The clone had told the truth, the blade had also pierced Kurapika's heart. He slumped down, cough up blood. Before everything turned dark, he still could see a figure... KURORO LUCIFER...

≈•≈

The five members of the Ryodan and Kurapika, or at least their clones were much stronger than those they were copying. Kuroro had a hard time fought against them. Every move, every technique he tried was useless while they easily gave him various injuries. He couldn't even escape, as they surrounded him from all directions.

"The answer, Danchou!" Shizuku smiled. "We only want the answer."

"If I won't?" Kuroro panted heavily.

"You will." Kurapika raised his hand. The chain from his little finger wrapped around Kuroro's heart. The bind and the pledge... "My rule: ANSWER THAT QUESTION."

_Who are those clones? Why do they need the answer that I don't even have? Why do they have the power of the Ryodan's members and of Kurapika? Or..._ A thought appeared in his head. Or... Kuroro smiled; finally he understood what was happening. He looked up and stared into Kurapika's eyes.

"My answer is: KU-RA-PI-KA."

As the last word left Kuroro's mouth, the other six people vanished into thin air. The fog also disappeared and snow started to fall. All the trees that were destroyed in his fight were still standing unharmed.

"As I thought, everything is merely an illusion." Kuroro looked around and startled as he saw Roy standing near him.

"Congratulation, you pass the first trial." Roy clapped his hands. "I don't know what you saw, but it is not just simply an illusion. It reflected the doubt in your heart."

"You also had an illusion?"

"Yes, but it finishes now." Roy's voice was cold, but still there were traces of fear in it. His illusion must have been terrible.

"What about the others?"

"I don't know. They follow their own illusions and go deep into the forest. I'm looking for them, but I guess it'll be better if I just wait for their illusions to pass."

"Then wait. I'll go find them." Kuroro said, but 'them' only meant Kurapika. Kurapika was the only one he was worried about.

Roy knew, but didn't stop him. "Whatever. I'll wait for you here."

Kuroro used his special technique and locked his nen on his coat. He followed that guide and easily found Kurapika. The blond was lying on the ground motionlessly.

It seems he couldn't overcome his illusion. Kuroro thought and lifted Kurapika up. He smiled in relief; the blond was still breathing. The small smile quickly disappeared though as Kuroro spotted the small wound on Kuroro's arm. The blood flowed out was green, showing that Kurapika was poisoned. There was no time for thought. Kurapika's pulses were very week. Kuroro quickly used his nen to remove the poison from Kurapika's blood. After a little while, color had returned to Kurapika's face though he was still unconscious.

What could have caused this wound? Kuroro looked around worriedly and saw a large dead spider not far from their place.

He killed a spider in his illusion. Kuroro shook his head. You hate them that much?

He stared at the beautiful face of the young man lying in his arms. His expression was gentle and sad. The blond would soon wake up, and again his eyes would be filled with loathing when he looked at Kuroro. Just like that fateful night... In his arms, Kurapika seemed so vulnerable, but inside that small and light body was a will of steel, a will that gave no room for any other reason except hatred. There was nothing in this world that Kuroro couldn't have if he wanted, but Kurapika was a dream that he could never achieve, a dream that he had destroyed by his own hands.

Kuroro leaned down and gently pressed his lips on Kurapika's. Sweet and bitter, was it how a kiss should be? Kuroro didn't know... but... his last hope, IDELIAN.

_**Part 2**_

≈ _Two years before ≈_

It was a windless night. The moon was just a tiny piece of dim light gleaming behind dark clouds. The swinging of the old clock's pendulum was the only sound in the still of darkness. Sitting on the window stand, Illumi's eyes followed the trees that spread to the horizon. He didn't know what he was seeing. It was only that from this high window looking down at his family's huge garden, he couldn't help feeling the world was so wide, and the air was so fresh. It made him a little overwhelmed.

Something was different. Something had changed. Because normally, Illumi slept with his window locked heavily with both iron and nen locks. There was no where safer than the territory of his family, but the first lesson for the children of the Zoldirks was always not to let themselves be caught off guard in any situation. Tonight the room just seemed so small and stuffy, so stuffy that it was almost suffocating. But the room was the same, and the garden was the same, so what had changed?

_flash back_

"It's you." The magician said without turning back. He didn't seem to be worried about finding the one with the number he must hunt.

"Why do you stop me from killing that boy?"

Hisoka mixed the cards then started building a tower with them, again. "He has potential. He will be a worthy opponent someday." Hisoka replied as if there were nothing as obvious as that fact.

"A worthy opponent also means a dangerous enemy. You should kill him before he gets too powerful!"

"I want to have a fight with him when he is strong enough."

"Why?"

"I like it."

"I don't understand. I can't see your reason!"

The card tower collapsed. Hisoka stood up and turned to him.

"Do I need to have a reason?"

_end flash back_

Illumi startled, suddenly realized what he was thinking. He lifted his hand to his face. The Hunter test had ended a week ago, but its events still sometimes slipped into his thoughts. All of them were about a single person: Hisoka. He couldn't figure out why, as he had no intention of meeting that magician again if it were not for the relationship between the hiring and the hired.

The strange emotion that had haunted him for the whole week returned. Illumi frowned. Because of it, he had turned down two missions and even ignored his mother's screams and howls. It had also got in the way of his every habit and robbed him of his sleep. He was not unfamiliar with sleepless night, but tonight had already been the fifth. A little exhaustion had caught up with him and Illumi feared that if this continued, exhaustion would affect his combat ability in a negative way.

But he just couldn't sleep.

Because something had changed... He couldn't determine what it was. There was only one thing certain. The iron heart that had never been stirred by anything now suddenly decided that it wanted to wander in the unfamiliar emotion, lazy and dispirited.

≈ _Three months before ≈_

The needles penetrated the body of the man who was still begging for his life. Blood splashed on the ground, starting a painful and deformed death.

Illumi had to breathe in deeply several times to calm himself down. He looked up and found himself surrounded by a mountain of corpses. There might be hundreds of people. He raised his hand, wanting to comb his hair, then decided against it, as his hands were all drenched in blood. This bloody and savage mass murder was not his style. He liked a more quiet approach and usually did not do more than what his contract demanded; however, he lost his calm too easily these days.

The familiar scene of his room offered him little comfort. He dropped himself on his huge bed, didn't really want to do anything.

"If he were here, I would kill him a thousand times." Illumi muttered. Fleeting through his head was the image of a person in clown clothing.

It was all that person's fault. A month after the Hunter test, the unfamiliar feeling that had weighted heavily on his mind had completely disappeared. He was once again the professional assassin of the Zoldirks. Everything had returned to normal until he met Hisoka in York shin. When he accepted Hisoka's offer, and even when he was doing it, he didn't feel anything strange. But after that, five sleepless nights that were full of thoughts about the magician had destroyed the balance of Illumi's life forever.

It was late. Illumi left his bed to close the window, and opened it again. The broad scene before his eyes, the trees that spread to the horizon, and the moon hanging on a starry sky... His heart was heavy and his spirit was gone... Felt like something was lacking, something so vague... So empty... and hated this suffocating building so much... Every time he looked out of the window, these emotions all rushed back to him. And still, there was something in this scene that made him unable to tear his eyes away. Something so alluring…

It was because of that reason that Illumi was standing by the window again. Vague hope lightened up his heart, even though he wasn't sure what he was hoping for.

≈ _Present ≈_

The footprints Illumi left on the ground quickly disappeared, as snow was still falling. It was so cold that even the air seemed to be frozen. There was no one around him. No Hisoka. No Killua. No one in the group. He knew he should be worried, or at least trying to think of a way to protect himself, because at this very moment, the intuition of a professional assassin was screaming at him that danger was all around. It was not the danger that would assault you face to face, but the danger that crawled to you silently without a hint, and when you finally felt it, you had already been writhe with pain in its squeezing claws. It was the danger that an assassin lurking in the night would feel before another force of darkness, much greater and more powerful.

But at this very moment, it was completely silent in Illumi's heart, so silent that he could hear the beating of his own heart clearly even through the howling of the wind. The threat he was feeling wasn't enough to fill the emptiness within him.

So empty. This emptiness was eating him from inside. The emptiness of someone who suddenly realized he also had the right to want, but unable to want anything... The heavy heart of someone who suddenly realized there could be another path for him, but unable to see that path...

The snow had become lighter for a short moment, but after he was separated from the others, the snow had become so strong that it was almost a storm. The freezing cold didn't affect Illumi even though he was still wearing his normal thin clothes. He was walking without knowing his destination. He only knew that he couldn't give up. Was he heading to Idelian? Illumi didn't know, and didn't care.

Idelian… If it were his fate, then so be it. There was no meaning in defying destiny. What would come didn't matter. He would fulfill his promise, the bind created from the contract between him and Kuroi. Illumi closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the icy breath of the wind on his face. It could never be colder than the unshakable decision he had made.

Idelian… The ultimate ending... Was there any other path left for someone like him? He couldn't leave the path of responsibility and oppression the Zoldirks had chosen for its children. Neither could he return to that path once he had briefly seen the true meaning of freedom. The snow under his feet was pure white. When he was aware of it, he had already stopped walking, staring at that white like being hypnotized, totally lost in his own thoughts.

After Kuroi had Idelian, the contract between him and the man would end. Even if he died, it didn't matter, as he had left in honor. A worthy death for a member of the Zoldirks. With his death, he would fulfill his responsibility to his family, and then, he would be free...

"You still think of it." A voice erupted from somewhere in front of him, so expressionless, and still sounding so sorrowful.

Illumi startled and looked up. A shadow stretched out on the snow.

"Hisoka…"

The magician got nearer. "When will you stop thinking about death?"

"Why do you care?"

"You think I'll let my most favorite toy die?"

"I'm not your toy! And what I do is none of your business!" Illumi's words were trembling with anger. It was strange, as only a moment before, his calmness was devoid of any emotion.

Hisoka's breath felt warm on his cheek, and Illumi had to use all his might not to step back. There was something so unfamiliar in Hisoka's eyes, the shadow of an emotion Illumi could not understand. And for the first time in his life, he was afraid. Afraid of what? Of Hisoka or of that strange expression? Illumi couldn't figure out, he only knew that his fear was growing. He didn't want to be here at this moment. He want to run away, far enough that he would never have to know what the light in Hisoka's eyes meant, as he was dimly aware that everything he knew, everything he had ever believed in his life would crumble before that knowledge.

Hisoka whispered into his ear. "Your right? When could you decide for yourself? You're just a puppet. A puppet cannot move without controlling threads."

"I…" Illumi could not answer.

"You still can't answer me." Illumi blinked. Hisoka's words make him surprised.

Suddenly Hisoka's hands held his face up, making him to stare into the magician's eyes. Before he could understand what was happening, Hisoka's lips had been upon his, and then...

What happened next, Illumi did not know. Even if the sky were going to collapse, he would not be aware, because this sensation... this burning sensation was so strong, strong enough to swallow everything up.

Hisoka released him, and Illumi fell to the ground, unable to regain his composure. Pale fingertips rose to trembling lips...

"If there is nothing worth living for, I'll give you something to seek." Hisoka's words drifted above him. The normally cold and heartless voice sounded almost sad.

Illumi couldn't make a single reply. He could only watch Hisoka disappearing behind the falling snow, and even after that, he remained on his spot for a long time, confused and dazed.

≈•≈

His steps on the snow were becoming much heavier. Hisoka fell to his knees, one hand pressing on his chest. Blood flowed out from between his fingertips and he was breathing heavily.

Hisoka looked up. The sky was still gloomy with gray clouds, but it had been lightened up somewhat with the falling snow. The flakes were cold on his face.

Everything that he had done... Does his effort mean anything? Or it had already been too late, for him, and for Illumi?

Hisoka pushed himself back to his feet. He had always been walking on the border of life and death. From the beginning when he chose his path, he had always welcome death, but now he just couldn't die yet.

He had found his answer. What about Illumi? Now, all what he could do was silently guiding Illumi to find out the answer for himself. And because of that, even though death was closing in from all directions, he must stay alive.

Heavy footprints left traces on the snow surface...

All red with blood...

≈•≈


	12. The storm in my heart

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another langue. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

≈•≈

**Chapter 12: The storm in my heart**

_Written by Kal Kally_

≈•≈_  
_

"Kurapika!!! Killua!!!" Leorio's cries were lost in the wind's howls. He had been too caught up in his own thoughts, torn between the jealousy of seeing Kurapika beside Kuroro and the wish to wipe away the sadness on that charming face. When he was aware that the snow had been falling heavier, he had already been struggling in the middle of a snowstorm. And worse, somehow he had strayed from the group. Leorio had been searching around for nearly an hour but all what he could find were only frosty pine trees staring back at him in an unbearable silence.

Leorio felt a presence and swirled back, but found nothing. A light shudder marked his discomfort even though he still forced himself to go forward. The doctor had never been good at feeling nen or energy, but at that moment, it took all his will not to be overcome by fear. Something was out there, something that did not belong to human world. Even though Leorio had tried his best to ignore it, he couldn't help feeling pressured and cornered.

Strangely, even though the fear of the unknown filled him with alarm, he still worried for his friend more than for himself. Leorio didn't care about Hisoka or Illumi, much less Kuroro, but he didn't want Killua to meet danger. And Kurapika...

He called Kurapika's name again, and got no answer.

_Is he still walking beside Kuroro?_

Just that thought was enough to make his rage consume him. Leorio hit the frosted tree right beside him hard. The impact made him feel better, but it also made the tree trembled, and as a result, he got a huge pile of snow dropping on his head. A series of colorful swears followed as Leorio got rid of the snow sticking on his hair.

How could he stand it if the one protecting Kurapika weren't him?

And what if Kurapika were like him, being separated from the group? Leorio knew that Kurapika was much stronger and more intelligent than him, but in his eyes, the blond was always vulnerable and delicate. Just the thought that the blond was struggling against this snowstorm alone made him worried.

Time dragged on. When the wind finally died down, and snow became lighter, Leorio thought he heard a voice. Someone was screaming in rage. He didn't know who it was, but he still raced to that direction.

≈•≈

"What the hell is this place?!?" Killua screamed in frustration. The dull color of snow drowned everything in it, and the wind's howls were the only sounds remained.

To Killua, the piercing cold in the air was no more than a spring breeze. The reward of the past's brutal training had protected him better than any winter clothes. This temperature could still be considered higher than what he had been forced to endure before to learn to survive as an assassin. Still his mind was a tangling mess. He worried for Leorio as the man was his friend, not only that, he was also an idiot. How could he find a way out of this with his tiny brain? Killua had tried to contact Leorio, but the snowstorm disturbed the radio waves, cutting off his communication so he could only hope the idiotic doctor was safe. And Kurapika, who knew what could happen if the blond stayed alone with Kuroro, his arch enemy? Killua had taken part in this dangerous quest because he didn't want his friend to face with danger alone, so he didn't want in the end, all his efforts would be futile.

Killua tripped and crashed down to the snow. He quickly pushed himself up, wincing as he got a mouthful of snow. He spitted it out and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand furiously. A thought suddenly came, forcing Killua to continue walking. He couldn't help feeling shaken, realizing he was worrying for an unexpected person even more than for his friends. It was his brother, Illumi.

It was so strange. Killua had never loved his brother, or at least that was what he had always believed. When he thought of Illumi, all what he felt was fear, and even hatred. The wish to defeat his brother by his own hand was so strong that it scared him sometimes. But... Killua started running blindly forwards. The belief in Illumi's power was always absolute. There was nothing that was able to harm Illumi. There was no one that was powerful enough to threaten his brother. These thoughts were so real that it became facts. However his instinct was screaming at him about danger and he kept feeling that something powerful was all around, a superior presence, a godly power that can crush anyone and destroy anything. Twisting in the air, lurking in darkness, that power was smashing into his consciousness, forcing him to feel anxious and restless. If confronting that power, even Illumi would be…

For some reason, the thought that even Illumi could be annihilated made Killua shaken to the core.

"I hate him!" Killua screamed and threw forward a handful of snow with such a force that it shook the whole tree that it met.

But he didn't want his brother dead….

He hated Illumi, and that would not change no matter what happened. There would be a day when he defeated Illumi by his own hand, but… he had never once thought that Illumi would no longer exist in this world.

Suddenly someone raced out of a short bush nearby and crashed into him.

Killua sprawled on the snow. "Again, man." He complained and sat up. The one who had just collided into him was crying softly with choked voice, as if he were trying to suppress his fear. The voice sounded so familiar.

Killua stood up and turned back, fully intend to give the stranger a lecture by fists and elbows that he would never forget in his entire life. However, as he set eyes on the other, every word died on his tongue.

In front of him was Gon.

But God, he never thought there would be a day he had to see his best friend like this. Blood painted the boy's white shirt, and even his skin. His face was pale from the cold, a massive bruise on his cheek. He was trembling, either from cold or from fear.

And those eyes… they were not the eyes of the carefree and happy boy that Killua had known. The lively sparks were gone, replaced with fear and panic… A pair of dead eyes on the face of the alive…

≈•≈

As Leorio just ran out of the dense frosted trees and came into a clearing, he stopped dead on his track. Kuroro was kneeling on the ground; in his hand was an unconscious Kurapika. The boy was pale, and a trail of blood was running down his chin.

"Kurapika!" Leorio cried and rushed to them. Kuroro looked up, and Leorio halted. The eyes that were glaring at him did not carry the normal calmness, only the threatening gleam of a wild beast. The murderous aura around the man was so strong that it made him shudder involuntarily.

Leorio gritted his teeth, gather all his will and stepped a step forward. Kuroro's nen abruptly rocketed and the intimidate aura became intense. Even though Leorio knew what he must do, he couldn't lift his feet up, gripped by the fear of the other's threatening presence.

"That boy will be fine." Roy appeared from nowhere and said.

The murderous aura disappeared in a second. Kuroro gently put Kurapika down on the feather coat spreading on the snowy ground and stepped to where Roy was standing without a word.

Leorio quickly ran to the blonde. There was only one tiny wound on Kurapika's wrist, but it didn't make Leorio less worried. The skin around that place was turning blue, which also meant that Kurapika had been poisoned.

"No need to worry. Kuroro has already neutralized the poison in his blood." Roy spoke up, his voice devoid of all emotions.

"I don't believe you!" Leorio said angrily. He'd rather die than trust Kuroro.

"Whatever." Roy just shrugged.

"Why were we separated, Roy?" A deep voice erupted.

Leorio startled as he saw Illumi stepped out from the frosted trees without any notice.

≈•≈

Illumi easily detected Kuroro's group as the snowstorm had quieted down and Kuroro's nen had rocketed, though only in several seconds.

He approached them silently. Illumi looked as calm as ever. There was no emotion on his face, there was no emotion in his eyes, but inside him a storm was raging. So many question unanswered, so many things he didn't understand… The kiss Hisoka had given him had felt so real that it hurt, but why? Was Hisoka toying with him? Or..? Illumi stopped for a second, his hand flew to his heart and a confused look appeared on his face. It couldn't be true. The heart of Illumi Zoldirk never wavered even in front of death, but here on this snow land, it was beating wildly.

Illumi shook his head, ignored his tumultuous thoughts and continued to walk forward. He realized the situation even before he saw the others. The blonde's nen was weak and he seemed to be injured. The three others had somehow lost their calm. Their nens were all out of control, though it seemed while Kuroro and Leorio's anger was just tossing around unconsciously, Roy was trying to control his nen intentionally.

Illumi stepped to them, and frowned as he listened to Roy's conversation with Leorio. "Why was we separated, Roy?" He asked.

"How can I know?" Roy just laughed lightly. Even though Illumi was used to reading people, he couldn't be sure if Roy was lying or not.

Illumi startled, hearing the familiar sounds of footsteps. It was Hisoka, but…

Only the doctor looked surprised. Kuroro and Roy's expression didn't change as the magician came into view.

"Ah ha. So everyone is here. Hm… not everyone. Where's your little brother, Illumi?" Hisoka laughed in his usual half-joking, half-mocking tone.

The magician looked the same; even his dangerous aura didn't change, but… Illumi glanced at Hisoka, a vague anxiety rising in his mind.

Hiding in darkness to prey on the enemy was never Hisoka's style. The man welcomed danger, and preferred to fight in the open, always trusting his strength and wanting challenges. But Hisoka was also not someone who just fought blindly and didn't know when to retreat. In this barren place where the unclear threat was all around and the godlike power mauled at everyone's consciousness, showing your trace to others could also mean a fatal mistake.

Then why did he hear Hisoka's footsteps? Hisoka could not be that careless.

≈•≈

The ground trembled in a slight earthquake. Leorio tightened his arms around Kurapika in panic. Illumi, Hisoka and Kuroro didn't change their expressions, but a small smile secretly found its way to Roy's lips.

The earthquake passed quickly and Leorio sighed in relief. He didn't want Kurapika to be hurt any more.

"Let's go." Roy said, sounding urgent.

"No!" Leorio protested. "Killua hasn't arrived yet!"

"There's no need to wait for him."

Illumi interrupted in a commanding tone. "We will wait for Killua."

Roy turned to him. "I thought you didn't care about the brat?"

"I don't care about him."

"Then don't interfere. It's too late for him anyway."

The vague murderous aura around Illumi suddenly became more intense. "What do you mean?"

Roy didn't answer, but a low chuckle from Hisoka got their attention. "It means a sacrifice has just been consecrated. Am I right, Roy?"

"What is he saying?" Leorio asked, confused.

"The five gates represent the five edges of the star. Open all of them will unlock the path to the Center of the world. If I'm not mistaken, to get to the Center of the world there would be at least five of us sacrificed. The tremor must be the sign of a gate opening, which means, Illumi, the end for your brother."

Four needles appeared on Illumi's hand as he glared at Roy. "Is that true?"

Roy's smile faltered a little when Hisoka spoke, but he quickly recovered. "It's true." He answered calmly and dodged Illumi's needles. "That boy, you or us, we have all entered the game of destiny. It's just a small price to pay if you want to win against fate."

"That's enough for us!" Leorio growled. "I will take Kurapika and left. You can die alone if you wish!"

"The first gate has opened. It's no use struggling. Once the game has started, no one can escape, except the one who owns Idelian. You should have known from the beginning coming here meant accepting loss. If the boy could not overcome his illusion, he lost his life because of his own weakness. He can't blame anyone."

"Illusion?"

"The illusion of the First Gate's challenge. We had all experienced it."

"What are you talking about? There was no illusion"

Suddenly there were ringing sounds. Leorio startled, and his face brighten up as he looked down at his thick coat. Before they got on the mountain, Killua had insisted that they must bring some communication devices with them, saying he'd rather die than trusting Roy and Kurai. The sheer joy those simple sounds brought him made his hands trembled so it took him nearly five minutes to dig out the walkie-talkie from his inner clothes. He cried in relief hearing the familiar voice from the radio. "Killua!"

Illumi didn't say anything, but secretly felt as if a rock had just been lifted up off his heart. He glanced to his side, feeling a little bewildered as both Hisoka and Kuroro looked surprised and worried. Not very far from them, Roy stood frozen; the look on his face was nothing but aghast.

"It can't be!" He stammered. "A gate has opened… The sacrificial ritual must have carried out!"

≈•≈

Leorio paid no attention to Roy's words, too busying in shouting at the walkie-talkie. "Killua! Where are you?"

"I don't know… but… Leorio…" Killua's voice was trembling. Something was wrong, and it made Leorio anxious.

"Killua, what's wrong?!?"

"Gon… Leorio… Come here! Gon is…" The boy's broken words sounded frightened and frantic, so different from Killua's normal self. Hearing them, Leorio found himself also slowly losing his calm.

"What are you talking? Why Gon? Isn't he imprisoned in Kurai's cell?"

"Leorio! Just get here!!!" Killua yelled.

Leorio tightened his hold on the walkie-talkie. It took all his will not to let himself be affected by Killua's emotional outburst. He knew he had no choice other than providing support for his friend.

"OK. Where are you?"

"Don't know… There's only snow! Leorio, what must I do? What must I do, Leorio… Gon…"

"Calm down, Killua! Look around you, is there any noticeable scene? Like a rock, or a tree—"

"I SAID I DON'T KNOW! There's only snow! These fucking stupid snow!"

The walkie-talkie was abruptly taken from Leorio's hand and he jumped, finding Illumi right behind him.

"Killua." Illumi voice didn't change, still low and monotonous. "Use your nen. I'll find you."

A scream cut off the assassin's sentence. For a moment, Leorio was panic enough to forget all his fear as he yanked bank the walkie-talkie. "What—what is that, Killua?!?"

"Bodies… Ryodan's corpses!"

The tense atmosphere became choking as Kuroro's murderous aura immediately sprang out, directed to none, but threatening all. "What did he say?" He stepped up, venom dripping from his voice; however, he stopped as a hand closed on his wrist.

Hisoka shook his head. "Don't make the kid more frightened."

Kuroro glared at the magician, ready to strike, but Hisoka didn't break the eye contact. In the end, he yanked his hand away and stepped down. Hisoka only glanced at him once, then folded his arms, staring intensely at Illumi and Leorio. The joking smile had disappeared, and the fury in his eyes was matching Kuroro's.

Before Leorio knew what happened, the walkie-talkie had returned to Illumi's hand. "What are you doing?!" He snapped, but backed away as Illumi glared at him in warning. Just a moment later, the assassin started to guide Killua to use his nen as a sign for them as if Leorio never existed. Leorio cursed, but quickly fell silent as far away, Killua's nen traces become so strong that even he could felt it clearly. He frowned in puzzlement, then realized that no matter how Killua hated his brother, now Illumi was the only person who could order Killua to calm down.

Kuroro and Hisoka headed to that direction without a word. The walkie-talkie fall from Illumi's hand and crashed to the snow as he also started walking.

Leorio bit his lips, looking down at the blond at his feet. He wanted nothing more than holding the boy close and letting him have a good rest; however he couldn't just leave Killua and Gon alone. The doctor took Kurapika into his arms, frowning as he saw Kuroro's coat. He threw it away in disgust, replacing it with his own before following Illumi.

Roy stared after the group, alarmed and confused. If what they said were true, some people among them had not yet faced the traps of the First Gate, and there was also no sacrifice even though a gate had opened. He pulled out the rusty pendant and startled as his eyes met its surface. Though the largest gem in the middle remained dull, all the five gems on the five points of the star were bright, emitting a soft white light.

"It couldn't be…" He whispered, shaken. "All the gates have opened. What's happening…?"

Roy looked up at the others who were slowly disappearing in the distance in confusion and worry. In a moment, everything was out of control, rendering his plan useless. It was too sudden that his mind almost went black, unable to think of what to do next.

_I must reunite with that person…_

A thought flickered by, and Roy shuddered. How could he forget? No matter what had happened, there was one thing remain unchanged… that he still had a destination to reach. The road might have disappeared, but it didn't mean he could stop walking.

The confusion in his eyes slowly turned to determination.

He did not know what the others did not to become the sacrifice for the Gates of Idelian, but Fate will always be Fate. When standing before the Final Gate, one would surely meet his Fate, no matter who he is.

When the wheel of Fate had turned, there would be only one way to stop it.

_And until that time…_

Roy closed his hands tightly around the pendant and followed the others.

≈•≈

There was no wound on Gon's body even though his shirt and even his arms stained with both dry and fresh blood. His bones were not broken, and he didn't have any signs of internal bleeding. However, physical injury was not what Leorio feared.

The doctor gently pulled Gon's upper eyelid up and used the small flashlight he brought along to check the pupil. There was no response to movements even though the pupils did change under different conditions of light. The boy reacted strongly to loud noises, and if the sounds continued for too long, he could become hysteric. Gon neither realized them nor understood what they said. Still his sense of Nen and aura was more sensitive than ever as Gon was calm when he and Killua was around, but quickly fell into panic near the rest. At first, the doctor had thought that Gon's state was a temporary condition developed when he witnessed the death of the Ryodan's members. All his hope left him as he checked Gon up. The dry blood on his clothes told a different tale, that whatever happened to Gon, it must have happened at least several days ago. And for Gon to still wear this blood-soaked shirt, his condition must have started before the Ryodan's members died. The flashlight slipped out of his hold, but Leorio didn't pick up. His palms were sweating even though his body was freezing, and the rage fueled by despair consumed him even though he couldn't make a single word.

For the boy they always knew as Gon was not here anymore, replaced by a hollow shell, filled by nothing except instinct.

The symptoms were all pointed to an emotional trauma case. Being a doctor, Leorio wasn't unfamiliar with it; he had even treated some light cases in which the patients were too poor to go to a large metal institution. However, he found himself shaken to think that he would have to deal with it in an important friend, who was in fact still only a child.

"Leorio… Gon… will he be ok?" Killua asked, his voice sounded lost and tired.

Leorio hesitated, unable to answer, unable to even turn around, afraid to see the hope on Killua's exhausted and dazed face. The boy had stood beside him the whole time he examined Gon, waiting patiently without a word, obedient almost like a puppy waiting for his master.

What should he reply? What could he reply? Leorio didn't think he could explain the truth to Killua; he was just not stony-hearted enough. But Killua… Killua was a boy walking on the border between childhood and adulthood. Killua had seen too much, understood too much to believe him if he gave the boy lies.

He closed his eyes for several seconds, and while still unable to turn around, he spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling. "Killua, you must stay calm. Gon…"

**TBC…**


	13. Confrontation

Idelian

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another language. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

**A/N: **Thank you very much for the reviews, they mean a lot to me.

≈•≈

**Chapter 13: Confrontation**

_Written by Kal Kally_

Illumi watched his brother in silence, his arms folded and his back leaning to a pine tree. Killua huddled against a rock, his arms wrapping around his knees, his sullen eyes never leaving the doctor who was trying to pull the kid they found back to reality.

The doctor's announcement about the conditition of the kid didn't supprise Illumi. On his many missions, he himself had caused it to many people, most of them were the families of his victims. Killua didn't take that news too well, and Hisoka… Illumi risked a glance at Hisoka and frowned. The joking smile had disappeared on Hisoka's face and his murderous eyes could make even the most courageous warrior shiver. The magician had always had special interest on Gon Frecss and wasn't happy if anyone touch his prey. However, instead of storming off, hunting for whomever that had pushed Gon Frecss into this state, Hisoka did nothing, just watching the boy intensely. Illumi shook his head lightly, unable to drive away the anxiety cloud shrouding his mind.

He stepped to Hisoka's side but the magician didn't acknowledge him, paying all attention to the boy. He raised his hand towards Hisoka, but stopped in mid-air before he could touch the magician's arm as he realized his traitorous thoughts had wandered back to the earlier kiss. The magician had messed up his life forcefully while acting as if nothing happened, and now, all his attention was on Gon Frecss. Somewhere deep inside, Illumi felt hurt.

The doctor called Killua and asked if he wanted to sit by Gon Frecss. Killua agreed and let the boy sit between his legs and lean to his chest. Killua hugged him tightly, hiding his face on the boy's hair, his shoulders shaking… Illumi's eyes widened as he caught the choked sobs. Killua had never looked so devastated. He had never shed a tear, even when bearing his punishment, even when facing the wrath of their father.

If his brother was stubborn, Illumi would reprimand him. If his brother tried to oppose their family, Illumi would force him back to his place. If his brother refused to abide by the principle of the Zoldirks, Illumi would descipcline him. It had always been that simple. And if his brother cried his eyes out, Illumi would… he didn't have any single clue. He only knew that an unfamiliar feeling had filled his chest. Lost and helplessness, it was the feeling he hated most since he become an assasin.

A groan got his attention. The blonde sat up, one hand pressing on his face, still looking dazed. The doctor immediately ran to him. After he finished checking, the doctor whispered to the blonde about Gon Frecss. The dazed look quickly turned into panic as the blonde scrambled to his feet and ran to Killua.

≈•≈

Leorio pulled him back, but Kurapika jerked away. His aching head made him wobble, and it cost him more than just his will to run to Gon.

Gon… This frightened child had nothing resembled the cheerful Gon he had known… Kurapika dropped to his knees before his two friends. Gon was the most innocent boy he had ever met, but now Kurapika couldn't find any trace of that carefree and unyielding spirit on his tear-strained face. His shaking hand reached the boy's shoulder and Kurapika bit his lips, unable to say a single word. What he feared most had become reality. Kurapika didn't know what had happened. He only knew that finally his little friend had lost his way in the circle of vengeance and had paid dearly for it. All because of him…

A water drop fell on his skin. Kurapika looked up and pulled his hand back as if burned. Killua was crying.

"Killua, I…" Kurapika couldn't finish his sentence. He staggered up and backed away a little. He knew how close Killua and Gon were, and he couldn't bring himself to face with Killua's pain.

Leorio clasped his hands on his shoulders to steady him. "Kurapika, calm down." The doctor's voice was low and sad. Leorio and Killua… Both of them must have loathed him now.

"Kurapika!" Leorio called his name again.

"Leorio…" He moaned. "It's my fault… Because of me Gon… it's all my fault…".

From behind, Leorio wrapped his arms around him, providing him with emotional support. "Don't say it that way, Kurapika. Don't blame yourself."

Kurapika squeezed on the doctor's arm, accepting his help, desperately needing something to hold on to. "If it hadn't been for me, Gon wouldn't have been hurt… If Gon hadn't met me…"

"STOP IT!"

Killua shouted, startling both Kurapika and Leorio.

"We came here on our own. I… Gon… because we didn't want to lose you… Because you are important to us… and to Gon…" Killua's voice choked with emotion. He hugged Gon closer as if being afraid that the boy would disappear if he let go. "If you're like this now… Gon… all what he had done, all what he had been… suffering… would become meaningless."

"I… Don't you blame me? You must hate me so much."

"If I say I'm not angry with you, I lie. But… I know Gon would not blame you, so I cannot blame you."

"But… If I didn't meet you and Gon…"

"But it happened." Killua said quietly. His tears had stopped, but pain was still visible in his eyes. "You have met us. Gon has considered you a friend. If you denied it now, Gon…"

… Gon would lose a friend who should have stayed by his side when he needed friendship most… Was it what Killua wanted to say?

"I'm sorry…" Kurapika sobbed, realizing that Killua had forgiven him, even though he didn't deserve forgiveness.

Suddenly everything blacked out for several second. Leorio helped him up. "Be careful. The poison's effect has not yet worn off."

"Poison?" Kurapika pressed one hand on his face, bewildered. His head hurt so much that he couldn't think clearly anymore.

"Don't you remember anything?"

"Remember…" Kurapika stopped, then cried in panic. "I saw you die, Leorio! And them!" He gestured towards Hisoka and Illumi.

Leorio shook his head and guided him to sit down. "You must have a light concussion."

"But--" Kurapika tried to argue. His eyes rested on Gon and immediately darkened. Kurapika closed his eyes, trying to block everything from his mind. The revenge he had always pursued had lost its fire before the pain of his two friends. He tried to recall his dark determination, but even the hatred towards Genei Ryodan couldn't fill the empty whole in his chest. He leaned to Leorio, accepting the other's comfort. Normally he would never agree to this, but the current events had made him exhausted, both mentally and physically. Slowly, he fell back to a light, dreamless sleep.

The sound of footsteps interrupted his sleep and Kurapika looked up. Kuroro was walking to the bonfire, holding somebody in his arms. A choked cry escaped his lips as he saw Kuroro's expression. More than just painful… it was the combination of sadness and consternation, of anger and remorse.

≈•≈

Leorio caressed Kurapika's hair lovingly. The blonde didn't push him away as usual but it didn't make him feel lighter as the boy's limp form only told him of fatigue and depression.

The sounds of footsteps echoed on the snow. Leorio looked up and spotted Kuroro heading to the bonfire with Roy trailing after him. The body in his arms looked so lifeless and small, being wrapped in Roy's coat. Kuroro gently let that person down near the bonfire; for a while he just sat there, holding the pale hand with a pained expression on his face.

The coat didn't allow Leorio to see much, but by looking at the soft hair he guessed that person was a young woman. He turned to Kurapika, couldn't decide what to do. The woman must be one of the Gene Ryodan, Kurapika's enemy, so naturally Kurapika would detest it if he went to her. Leorio turned back to bonfire again, torn between the responsibility of a doctor and the affection he had for the blonde.

"Just go." Kurapika whispered and sat away from him a little.

"…" Leorio hesitated for another moment. Finally the doctor in him won, and he ran to the wounded. "Is there anyone else?" He asked Roy, unwilling to talk with Kuroro.

"Except Machi, we also found Shinzuku and Sphinx." Kuroro answered, sounding aloof and lost.

"Then where are they?"

There was no answer.

There was something more important. The injured woman was half-dead. Her weak breath could stop at any moment and she was burning with fever. Leorio quickly unbuttoned the coat, intending to check the woman's wounds… and nearly shouted in fright. All color lost from his face, Leorio rushed to the tree nearby and threw up.

Cleaning off his mouth with the back of his hand, Leorio glanced back to the injured in horror. That frail body must have been trashed ferociously in huge claws and teeth until the bones broke and skin crushed. What creature could have inflicted such grave and gruesome wounds? Finally he understood why both Roy and Kuroro looked shaken. The death of the two other members of the Ryodan must have been brutal and vicious.

≈•≈

When Kurapika saw the woman's face, something in him woke up. Crimson flashed in his eyes as he realized that a Ryodan's member was around, wounded and defenseless. A perfect chance for his revenge. He pushed himself up and staggered towards the injured woman lying on the snow, his hand clenching painfully hard as he prepared himself for a battle. Surely Kuroro would try to stop him, wouldn't he? To his surprise, Kuroro just stood up and left him alone with the object of his hatred. Even Leorio, with all the sense and responsibility of a doctor, didn't interfere; instead, they just watched him from afar.

Even though the desire for revenge seethed in his blood, confusion still made Kurapika hesitated. And as he stood before the wounded, realization drew upon him. No one would stop him, for there was no reason for interference anymore. For that young woman, death might as well be a benevolent release. The red color refused to go away, but insisted in remaining only a faint shade, making him shuddered for his weakness. His enemy was right here and in such a vulnerable state, and yet he couldn't escape from his frozen state. They had gone through so much… Gon's pain, Killua's forgiveness, and the unfamiliar horror on Kuroro's face… This woman had been gravely wounded… could he bring himself to carry out his judgment mercilessly? Would he be satisfied with it?

But…

His people were watching him… The crimson eyes never slept…

Kurapika raised his chained hand, feeling all eyes on him. Suddenly the air turned suffocating as a memory flashed back.

≈ _**In the flame that consumed the Kuruta tribe**_

Standing before Kurapika was unmistakably Lucifer. A flame sword was burning in his hand. His clothes were all drenched in blood.

Lucifer stopped before him.

The sword on his hand rose.

Kurapika knew he should have felt panic, begging for his life, or screaming in hatred. But at that moment the stillness dwelling in him dimmed everything. Not exactly like the emotionless state before, more like he had resigned himself to fate. Kurapika closed his eyes, waiting calmly for his death.

The sword never fell on him. Kurapika slowly opened his eyes and saw a girl, several years older than him, clinging to Lucifer's arm, trying to pull him back. "Danchou! Don't! Let me do it!" She screamed.

Time passed in tense silence. Finally Lucifer turned and walked away; for some reason, his steps were heavy and his shoulders sagged. The girl stared after him for a long time, never once moved from her place, looking like someone who had just faced with the most disastrous event of her life.

The girl returned her attention to him, and Kurapika gasped. Even though she was obviously his enemy, the intensive loath and the absurd hint of sadness and hesitance on her face still stunned him. Kurapika held his breath, so certain that he would die this time and even though he couldn't bring himself to care, bitterness rose in his throat, making his whole body tremble. He was no longer afraid of death, but he had thought Kuroro would at least kill him, and it clawed at his heart that in the end even this small satisfaction was denied.

The girl raised her hand slowly; threads spurted out from her fingertips and slashed at the barrier around Kurapika. Within a minute, it shattered, leaving him exposed and unprotected. To Kurapika's surprise, he didn't feel the fear that should have gripped his heart, instead, both his body and mind tensed with anticipation and fueled by the fury burning inside. With an animalistic scream of rage, Kurapika lung at his enemy, attacking blindly without any coherent thought. But he, a child that had never wander outside the safety of his tribe, could never match with her, a trained warrior that had experienced hundreds of battles. Her threads effectively blocked all his blows, leaving on his hands red angry gashes. After a few minutes, the girl had him pinned down under her weight. Kurapika struggled in vain in the threads but couldn't shake away the abusing hand closing on his throat.

"Somebody like you—Some body like you—" She snarled. "Just die and give him back to us!"

What did she say? The question fleet through Kurapika's mind, but quickly faded away as he battled desperately for a breath.

He must have blacked out, as when the fog clouding his mind clear, the girl's hands weren't on his neck anymore. His cheeks felt wet. Kurapika blinked, and blinked again, unable to understand the hot tears falling on his face. The tears that didn't belong to him…

Gentle fingertips traced over his bound hand. "The thread… Why…? Why is it still here? Why doesn't it disappear?" The girl whispered with pain heavy in her voice.

"What are you saying? You're the one who--" His head snapped to a side under the girl's blow.

"SHUT UP!" The girl screamed and slapped him violently again, the sheer force nearly robbed him of his consciousness. "If you die then this stupid fucking thread may disappear! No! It will disappear! It must disappear!"

The hand with the thread rose again and Kurapika was too dazed to react. But the finishing blow never came, instead, the girl's hand closed on his and more tears trailed down her face. "But he never smiles… He never truly smiles at us… But… I want to see him smile again…" She closed her eyes and bowed.

"What…" Kurapika hesitated, confused with the girl's behavior and sure as hell didn't understand anything she said. He had ceased to struggle, and now only blinking up at the defeated face, unsure of what to say next.

Hands clamped over his mouth and flipped him to his front roughly. Kurapika screamed at his assailant, but his voice came out muffled as the girl gagged him with a piece of cloth. The fight resumed; however, it was not long. He was hit at the back of his neck and thankfully fell into darkness.

≈•≈

The cold, hard surface pressing on his skin woke him up and he immediately fell into panic as no matter how wide he opened his eyes, darkness remained a thick dense wall in front of him. Kurapika tried to get up, but he couldn't move a single muscle. Had he died, at last?

Slowly, his eyes adjust to darkness, and he found out that he was in a cave. The wet smell of moss felt familiar, reminding him of the mountains surrounding Kuruta valley. The shadow stirred, someone stopped before him. Kurapika tensed, realizing his assailant.

"My threads will dissolve after a day." The soft, emotionless voice carried no trace of the earlier anger. "Here they won't find you. Don't move and you might live."

It itched in him the question 'why', but getting pass the cloth in his mouth was only some choked, muffled noise.

The footsteps sounded farther and farther, finally faded into darkness.

≈ _**End**_

His hand wavered in the air, and he fell faint with the decision hardening in him. "I… I shall have my revenge, but not like this…"

A long pause.

"This time we'll get even. The next time we meet, nothing can hold me back anymore." Kurapika closed his eyes and whispered.

"Healing Chain."

≈•≈

Roy stared at the wounded woman in anger. Kuroro stayed beside her all the time, silently providing her his support. Now how could Roy separate Kuroro from her? His eyes fell back to Kurapika and he frowned. The blond slumped against a pine tree, fully awake but exhausted and dazed.

Idiot. If the blond had killed that Ryodan bitch, it would be so much easier. But he had to use whatever left of his strength to heal her wounds instead. Now the bitch's state had become more stable and even though she was still wounded and unconscious, she had stopped bleeding. Not to mention that her most serious wounds had healed. Hideous scars they might leave, but they were no longer fatal. However Kurapika had used up to the last of his power, knocked out for about an hour before waking up looking like an invalid.

Nothing followed his plan. Nothing at all.

Roy glanced up in worry at the never-changing gray sky. The dim daylight stayed the same as it had been when they got on the mountain; however, the threatening force was getting stronger by each minute. Considering its current intensity, Roy knew evening must have come.

There was no more time. He rushed to Kurapika. "We must go now." He said quietly and extended his arms, wanting to lift Kurapika's up.

A strong hand battled his away. The doctor immediately got to the blonde's side and glared at him. "Do not touch him." He growled.

The doctor would never know that he had been so close to death. The tension time brought on Roy nearly made him to lose his calm but he held back. He ran his a hand through his hair, trying desperately to cool himself down. He couldn't let the others to be skeptical, not yet. After all, beside Kurapika he still needed another person to reach Idelian.

Roy scrambled to his feet and backed away from the blonde and his friends. "We don't have much time left. Must reach the peak before night comes."

"You want to go? Then go alone! We'll stay here!" Leorio snapped.

"Right. Now when Gon has returned to us, we won't dance to your tune anymore!" Kurapika agreed, his voice weak, but firm.

"I won't let Gon meet any more danger. If you want to go, go alone!" Killua also said.

His rage was getting out of control and the pressure of having to race with time weighted so heavy on his shoulders. There was no other way; Roy knew he must have his way by force. If he could take Kurapika with him, Kuroro would follow. About the rest, live or die, he just didn't care. His hand touched the knife in his coat, ready to strike.

Intuition made him glanced to his left. No murderous aura, no threatening word, but the card on Hisoka's hand told more than just a simple warning. Roy narrowed his eyes, but his hand did left the knife. His plan had gone astray, and now recalculation quickly took place.

Among the members of the group, he was most wary of Hisoka. Roy had studied many records of Hisoka's battles which showed that Hisoka's strength was equal to him. However the magician always seemed joking even in his fights so Roy couldn't decided if Hisoka had used all his power on any of his past battle or not. Roy didn't worry too much about the magician at first, as in his previous plan, Hisoka must die when a gate opened. But now, everything changed as all the gates had opened without any death. And… Roy remembered Hisoka's words about the gates and decided that Hisoka was no simple person. The magician had showed him clearly that if he wanted to leave the rest of the group behind, his decision would lead to a fight to death. And being so close to his goal now, Rou knew he wouldn't dare to take any risk.

His eyes moved from Illumi to Killua and Leorio. Based on what he had observed since the start of their journey, Hisoka wouldn't leave Illumi behind. And since their reunion, Illumi always looked tensed and alarmed, probably because of the effect that the danger in the air caused on his consciousness. Roy had learned about Illumi enough to understand that death didn't scare the young assassin, but facing with such a fearsome unseen presence, Illumi would not leave his brother. And that group, Killua, Leorio, Kurapika and Gon, would not stand separated, especially now when Gon suddenly appeared. Kuroro would also not go anywhere without bringing the Ryodan bitch along.

In short, if he wanted Kurapika and Kuroro to follow him to the mountain peak, he would have to take all the idiots with him.

The soft, deceptive smile returned to his lips. "I have no bad intention." He held out his arm in a harmless way. "It's true that I have nothing to force you to go with me now, but as I said before, as soon as you set foot on this sacred ground, you lose your chance to retreat. No turn around. No escape. I know you all feel the power that rules this place. That power's getting stronger, and it'll become multifold when night comes. Only by getting to the mountain's peak will we be safe!"

"You don't scare me." Killua said with low and icy voice. "I'll protect Gon."

Roy fleered and knelt down before Killua so that their faces were only inches from each other. "That easy? Little boy, do you think you can match with Ryodan members? Do you know how vicious is their death?" Roy leaned closer as he emphasized on his word. "Their bodies were torn to shreds. Death had come to them excruciatingly. And I'm sure, slowly. At that time, this overwhelming power was much weaker than it is now. So boy, are you sure you can protect your little friend when the power comes to its height?"

Killua bit his lips, and behind Roy, Leorio sworn and hit the ground hard. However, there was no retort and Roy laughed inside, knowing he had succeeded.

"Let go." He stood up and looked at the other group members. "There's not much time left."

≈•≈

It was so… so unfair! Finding Gon in this tragic state had broken all of Killua's will to fight and he wanted nothing more than taking Gon to some faraway place. Far enough that the damn 'Idelian' would never be a part of their life anymore.

He wanted to retort, but as he hugged Gon tighter to his chest, painfully aware that the small body was trembling in fear, Killua knew Roy had told the truth. Danger was all around. Everything was cloaked in a godly presence, powerful, ferocious and suffocating. The effect it left on Gon was visible. The agitated boy trembled and sobbed incoherently while clutching Killua's shirt like his whole life depended on it. Never in his life had Killua felt so trapped. They wouldn't be able to get off the mountain in time so the only choice left was to continue the journey to the mountain peak. However, even that choice seemed so impossible. How could Gon continue the journey with Hisoka, Illumi, Kuroro and Roy when he got terrified each time they came near. And if the strange power got stronger, Killua feared that his friend's fragile mind might break.

Suddenly Gon's shudders turned worse. Killua startled and saw Illumi headed to them. His brother sat down before him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Killua demanded quietly, didn't want to raise his voice in Gon's presence. "Go away! Don't come near us!" Normally he would never dare to speak to Illumi this way, but the worry for Gon had won over everything else.

"Use your nen." Illumi said nonchalantly.

"What are you saying?"

"You can use your nen to write letters in the air, can't you?"

"Yes, but…"

"Do it." The voice now carried a thin hint of warning in it.

Killua cursed his brother inwardly, but the warning was clear, so he made a tiny letter in the air.

"Okay? Now go away!"

"Now release your nen, and write another letter. Just repeat it like that."

"What?"

"Do it."

Killua stared at his brother in confusion. He wanted to retort, but something told him to follow Illumi's instruction. He wrote again, this time a larger letter.

"Only stop when I tell you to." Illumi said. He touched Killua and Gon's foreheads lightly, and then closed his eyes.

Surprise made Killua lose the letter he was holding. Illumi didn't move, looking like a stone statue. He considered shaking his brother, asking what was wrong, but decided against it. What if Illumi got angry with him? He would have to fight his brother to protect Gon, but it would be a fight that he knew he would lose. He wrote another letter, still puzzled by Illumi's behavior.

A minute passed and Killua got fed up both with the process and Illumi's stolid face. He was about to give up when he noticed that Gon had calm down. Not only that, the oppression of the godly presence had also waned. Killua turned to his brother, and for the first time realized Illumi was sweating in the freezing air, his face ghastly and exhausted.

What happened? Killua frowned and paid attention to his surroundings. Around him, a familiar energy filled the air, creating a serene and secure atmosphere. His own nen…? Suddenly everything became clear, and Killua nearly cried out in amazement as he understood what Illumi was doing. His brother had created two nen spheres around Gon and him, or to be exact, around the two traces of nen on their foreheads. The traces of nen might by some kind of keyword that locked Illumi's nen into a curve structure. Both the strange oppressive power and the other fighters' aura could not penetrate the nen barrier, which had put Gon in a more tranquil state.

Killua hastily focused on scribbling more letters in the air. The godly presence got weaker with each letter he wrote. After about three or four minutes, Killua stopped, feeling the level of energy in the nen spheres was enough. Putting more nen would make it become suffocating and uncomfortable. However, Illumi kept pouring more nen into the barriers.

Time passed. Roy was stamping his feet lightly with impatience while Kurapika and Leorio eyed them curiously. But Illumi didn't stop, looking frozen as if to him, the whole word had disappeared. Another minute went by. Killua wanted to ask, but didn't dare. He couldn't understand why Illumi still put more nen into the barriers when it had been completed.

A hand clasped on Illumi's shoulder. His brother's eyes snapped open.

"Enough." Hisoka's cold and serious voice towards his brother troubled Killua. "Whatever this strange power is, I don't think it can break your nen cages easily."

Illumi stayed silence, his eyes glassy as he stared into empty air. Then he reeled up to his feet.

"Why?" Killua voiced out his confusion.

His brother didn't spare him even just a single glance, just as always. He turned around and followed Hisoka. Killua stared at his brother's back, filled with wonder. Illumi had used a great amount of nen to create the barriers, great enough that it made him stagger. But… why?

≈•≈

Kuroro glanced at Kurapika and the doctor in anger but he didn't move from his spot beside Machi.

He checked Machi's wounds. Her condition wasn't so serious anymore. Hideous wounds might remain, but at least she had escaped the clutch of death. Even though he didn't understand why the blonde had exhausted himself to save one of his greatest enemies, but thank to him, Machi's wounds were no longer life-threatening. For that, Kuroro was grateful. And for that, the longing he felt towards Kurapika strengthened. However…

Kuroro gently brushed a damp lock of hair from Machi's face. Now Kurapika was surrounded by caring friends while Machi… except him, Machi had no one. He might never know what happened to the young woman, but there was one thing he was certain, that his men were here because of him and they had paid dearly for it. How could he leave Machi behind?

"Let's go! Time's running out." Roy urged them to go.

Kuroro closed his eyes, burying his feeling deep into his heart. When he opened his eyes, the Kuroro of the past few days disappeared and he was once again the steel leader of the Genei Ryodan.

≈•≈

Even though he despised it, Kurapika had no other way than letting Leorio lifted him up in his arms. The Ryodan's woman had been hovering on the border between life and death, and he found himself worn out after trying to pull her back. Some little strength had returned to him after that, but still not enough for him to climb up the mountain by himself.

He dared a glance pass Leorio's arm at Kuroro. The Ryodan leader had gathered the wounded woman into his arms, looking cold and distant. Kurapika blinked than shut his eyes, resting his head on Leorio's chest, trying in vain to stop the tears that threatened to spill and to escape from the bitterness that spread to every corner of his soul. For a moment, he regretted to have saved that woman, but the thought disappeared as quickly as it came. What had he hoped? Even if that woman had died, nothing would have changed, that when it came to decision, the one Kuroro chose would never be him.

It might be better, for in this way, there would be nothing left that could shake his vengeful determination. Never again.

≈•≈

"Don't be afraid, just follow me. I will protect you." Killua promised to his friend, even though Gon showed no sign of understanding.

He took Gon's hand and leaded his friend to follow the others. In the nen sphere filled with his nen, the other energy types had no effect on Gon, and the boy followed Killua without any resist.

He casted a glance at the sky in worry. They had to race with time if they wanted to reach the mountain top before this place sank into darkness.

≈•≈

TBC…


	14. The center of the world

**Idelian**

≈•≈

**Author:** Many authors, as this fic originally started as a Round Robin. Later, it was revised by me. I also wrote the last chapters of it.  
**Translate:** This fic was written in another language. Since I like it too much, I decide to translate it to English.  
**Disclaimer:** No, of course. HxH and its characters do not belong to any of us.

**Pairing:** Kuroro/Kurapika, Leorio/Kurapika, Hisoka/Illumi, hint of Killua/Gon  
**Genre:** Romance/Angst/Adventure  
**Warning:** Some violence  
**Summary:** Kurapika didn't know he would lead his friends into danger when he accepted an offer to search for a mysterious artifact. Neither did he expect he would have to face his feeling for his worst enemy. KuroroxKurapika. HisokaxIllumi.

**A/N: **Thank you very much for the reviews, they mean a lot to me.

≈•≈

**Chapter 14: The center of the world**

The group had reached the peak of the mountain and discovered a massive, ancient ruin. The snow had fallen lightly again. Its snowflakes landed gently on a huge, round stone platform a body higher than the ground with many tall columns surrounding it like a broken cage. Some columns had collapsed, scattering dark stone blocks both on the platform's surface and all around it.

Kurapika had recovered some of his strength and now he could walked without Leorio support. The strange letters on the edge of the platform caught his interest and he translated whatever he could to the group, claiming that they used a more modern Kuruta language. According to Kurapika, the ancient people living here had once used this platform as a temple where they held their sacrifice ritual every full moon.

The platform had four stairs at four directions leading to its surface. Only Killua used that method as he had Gon to lead. Everyone else just jumped right on it.

Killua let Gon sat down near a dark, large stone and looked around. There were many deep artificial crevices stretching all over the platform surface. Even though Killua could not get an overall view of the board platform, he knew the crevices must form some kind of patterns as they were similar in many parts, and all of them ran towards a marble altar at the center.

They had reached the top of the mountain, and if what Roy said were true, they should be safe by now. The young assassin could only guess, as inside the nen cage Illumi created for him he did not feel the aggressive energy. But as he watched the other, Killua realized with a sinking sensation that the danger had not yet passed.

Hisoka was the only one who still can act like nothing happened. Everyone else looked rigid with tension, even Illumi and Kuroro. It also meant that even here on the top of the mountain, the strange power still assaulted the senses of the fighters. Killua also noticed that his brother was grasping one arm tightly with the other hand, looking like he was cold. Kurapika kept blowing his hands now and then, and Leorio hugged himself, running in circle, complaining and shivering. Kuroro might also feel cold, as he hugged Machi close to his chest, trying to keep her warm. Killua wasn't surprised about Leorio, but if the cold weather could affect even strong fighters like Illumi and Kuroro, the temperature must have dropped very low.

His attention turned back to Gon. In the nen cages, the dangerous presence stopped mauling at his senses, and the freezing cold also couldn't penetrate. All what he could feel was a comfortable and safe warmth of his own energy. If it were only him, Killua wouldn't care much, but he was grateful to Illumi that the nen cage had protected Gon from harm.

"The four holes around this altar… These columns of lights…" Kurapika pointed at the bright altar with four light beams lit up to the sky, illuminating a large area around them. "If I'm not mistaken, they represent the four doors you have told us. But you also said that 'a door has been opened', then why all the four holes lit up?"

"We have reached the mountain peak! Why doesn't this power go away?!" Leorio demanded furiously.

"How can I know?" Roy shrugged. He was also shocked by the events.

"Don't joke around." Leorio snarled. "It was you who told us to come here!"

A high laughter cut them off. Hisoka pressed a hand on his face, looking like he was having a lot of funs. "It's hilarious how little you do know, being the guide after all."

Roy glanced at Hisoka in caution. "What do you mean?"

"Why the open four doors? Because the ritual has started much earlier before we stepped on the Rolrick Trasfery. The keywords on the way up here are not meant to start the ritual. It's only to open the seal around this place. Now even though all the four doors have opened, the last Trial Gate is still close. And if we can't get into Idelian before night come…" Hisoka fleered, "… then all of us will have the honor of experiencing the sacrifice ritual that those Ryodan members had gone through."

Roy had turned fully to Hisoka, his eyes cold and murderous. "Why do you know that much about Idelian? Hisoka, who are you really?"

The magician only smiled mysteriously. "So Roy, don't you think it's time you told us who you really are?"

"Kurapika!" Suddenly Leorio shouted. Killua startled, then stared at his friends in worry as Kurapika had just vomited blood. Leorio let Kurapika away from the altar and forced the blond to sit down. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Leorio asked frantically.

_Of course he is not fine_, Killua thought, _how can he be that stupid?_ While Kuroro silently used his nen to protect Machi from the vicious power, Leorio didn't do anything. _And he calls himself a doctor,_ Killua shrugged his head, _but all he does is just bustling around and asking nonsense._

However worry was just worry. Killua didn't want Kurapika to be hurt, but he was handful with taking care of Gon. Kurapika would have to make it on his own then. With Gon in this state, Killua didn't dare to risk causing his friend harm by helping anyone else. He glanced up at the sky again. Even though the light from the altar had brightened up the whole platform, darkness had blended into the clouds, turning them into dark gray mass. Soon night would fall on this mountain. The question 'why' might have appeared in the young assassin's head, but it did not stay long.

Reason did not matter. It was reality that made him worried.

≈•≈

Roy startled as he saw Kurapika vomit blood. The boy couldn't handle the pressure of the strange energy very well in his current condition. Hisoka might not be easy to deal with, but right now, Roy simply didn't have anytime left to worry about the magician. If Kurapika's health turned any worse, his plan might crumble.

"Well, well…" He said lightly. "What else to say? I am only a mere guide."

With a lightning speed, he left his position and appeared before Leorio and Kurapika. The doctor yelled in shock, unable to follow the swift movement. "What do you want?!" Leorio shouted, hands groped around crazily for his knives.

Roy grasped a hold of the man's shirt and easily threw him away. The man slammed into a stone column at the edge of the platform and plummeted down.

"Kurapika!" The doctor quickly recovered and rushed back. The young assassin also sprang to his feet. From somewhere behind, Kuroro's murderous aura flamed up.

Kurapika weakly raised his hand, trying to call his chain. "You—"

Ignoring everyone, Roy grasped that trembling hand brutally, forcing the fist to unclench and drop into the boy's palm a rusted pendant.

≈•≈

Illumi look at the vestige of the ancient civilization with an onlooker's attitude. Other peoples might saw this relic as a huge and majestic architecture, but in his eyes, it was no more than a useless pile of broken stones.

His hand tightened on his owned arm. Chilly. The icy air cut into his skin like sharpened knives, threatening to turn him into ice. Even the high resistance after all the hard training he had gone through couldn't chase the cold away.

The sound of footsteps abruptly lashed at his senses. Illumi nearly attacked, but realized it was only Hisoka. The magician lifted his eyebrows at the needles between his fingertips with a questioning look. Illumi just shrugged and called the needles back. He closed his eyes, trying to breathe normal, trying to keep himself unaffected by both the danger and Hisoka's presence.

The other Hunters and Roy slipped into an argument. Illumi frowned at Roy. Had they been tricked? When they arrived at the mountain top, the strange power didn't lessen. Instead, it flared up into an enormous pressure. He tried to ignore it, but the instinct of an assassin didn't allow him to. Every sense screamed at him, demanding him to take action, choking him as they disobediently picking a fight with the existence of the energy source. His mind was as taut as an instrumental string, ready to snap at any moment.

"It's hilarious how little you do know, being the guide after all."

Hisoka's laughter made Illumi glance at the magician. He didn't really listen to people's conversation since they reached the mountain top, but there was something strange in Hisoka's tone that bothered him, something that Illumi could not put his hand on.

"Why the open four doors? Because the ritual had begun much earlier before we stepped on the Rolrick Trasfery. The keywords on the way up here are not meant to start the ritual, only to open the seal around this place. Now even though all the four doors had open, the last Trial Gate was still close. And if we can't get into Idelian before night come…" Hisoka smirked, "… then all of us will have the honor of experiencing the sacrifice ritual that those Ryodan members had gone through."

Roy had turned fully to Hisoka, his eyes cold and murderous. "Why do you know that much about Idelian? Hisoka, who are you really?"

The magician only smiled mysteriously. "So Roy, don't you think it's time you tell us who you really are?"

A bell rang in his head, alarming him that something was not right. His gaze turned skeptical as he watched the magician and remembered their encounter with Kanfu. Why did Hisoka know that much?

"Well, well…" Roy's smile was like a snake. "What else to say? I am only a mere guide."

Suddenly he dashed to the blond with such a speed that normal people would never saw his movement. Roy threw the doctor away. The man quickly recovered and rushed back, murderous aura also flared up around Kuroro and his brother. The threat of a bloody battle was obvious, and still Illumi could not bring himself to care. He watched all the commotion detachedly, all thoughts focusing on Hisoka.

But as Roy took the blonde's hand and dropped something into his palm, Kurapika's aura began to change. The doctor reached them, but this time it was the blond that fought him away. A little interested this time, Illumi paid more attention to his surroundings. The blond aura had changed completely from weak and worn-out to vicious and dark. It was as if the blond had merged into one with the powerful existence that had stalked them from the time they walked through the seal of the mountain.

Kurapika stretched his arm towards the altar, on his palm burning a strange letter. A keyword, Illumi thought in awe. But how could it happen? A keyword could only be created on the material surface of the destination object, or on the surface of the energy cage itself. He had never heard that a keyword could be created on the body of the keyword master. In only a second, everything changed. The power in the air solidified into one huge, massive source somewhere on his left. Illumi swirled back and gaped at the blinding light sphere on the altar. This power… it was ten times, no, hundreds of time more enormous than what they had experienced on the road to the mountain top. Not nen, not elemental… simply energy, pure and frightening. Brutal and atrocious, it assaulted his mind directly with its intensity, with the smell of burning air and with the piercing pain it left on his skins. It shoved fear and panic down his throat against his will. It threatened him with not death, but something else, something too horrible and disgusting to be described by words.

The light sphere enlarged, and in a moment swallowed up the whole altar. Illumi unconsciously stepped back and murmured to himself. "I'm not overwhelmed. I'm not overwhelmed. Oh shit, I'm overwhelmed." He breathed out in shock.

The light was still spreading rapidly. Illumi hastily turned back and reached his right arm out toward his brother. There wasn't even time to be confused. Without thinking, the only thought inside his head was that he needed to push Killua out of here. Somehow, someway… he didn't know. He only knew that he needed to do it.

However leaking out of Illumi's hand was only a faint trace of nen. Illumi froze, then remembered that just one or two hours earlier, he had used up all his strength to create two nen cages that he had been so sure it could never be broken without his will.

The doctor once again raced back to Kurapika. Kuroro had also left the Ryodan woman to run to the blond. Illumi couldn't careless, for he knew that his nen cages were just feeble, pitiful jokes comparing to this danger.

Killua must have knew it somehow, as his brother squeezed the wounded boy tightly, trying to use his small body to shield his friend from the light.

It was too late. The light had reached them. He could feel its searing breath hot on his back. His hand clenched, a choked sound escaped his throat.

Illumi turned back to the light. If there was no way out then confront it.

A Zoldirk would not cower before anything.

Right before the light swallowed him up, a strong hand gently closed on his.

≈•≈

The world returned to him in the sensation of someone holding his hand. The warmth of that small hand calmed his heart, telling him to just lying there, enjoying the peace. But as the sense of danger crashed into him next, Killua snapped his eyes open in alarm.

He pushed himself up quickly. Darkness surrounded him from all direction, but he still could make out the faint outline of a body sitting beside him. Gon.

"Where are we?"

Gon didn't reply.

Surprised, Killua turned to his side. In the shadow, he couldn't saw Gon's face, but he felt painfully clear the trembles of the hand clutching his own.

"Gon… oh Gon…" The memories rushed back, and he hugged Gon hard, unable to say anything. Tears rose, but this time they could not fall. Gon did not cry, so he could not.

Gon was scared; he kept snuggling into his chest. Killua tried to calm his friend down while looking around. Normally his eyes could see well in darkness, but he saw nothing except the unending darkness. The energy level in the air was low but darkness covered his eyes like a thick scarf. Killua took a deep breath, clenching his hand around Gon. He had been terrified when he felt it, the godly, ferocious power on the altar. The fear had not gone away now, still clinging to his heart and poisoning his thoughts. Killua was rarely terrified of anything, except Illumi. Even when facing the most dangerous circumstances, he was calm; however, it was the calm that born from absolute self-trust, from the position of the strong who could saunter in the light since he had known clearly what lurked in the dark. But now, the realization that he was just a feeble, pitiful pawn in the game of the unseen forces had shaken him to the core.

Forcing himself to calm down, Killua checked their condition. He was not wounded, so was Gon. Illumi's nen cages must have protected them somehow; however its nen walls had reduced to several weak, thin layers.

"Let's go, Gon." Killua said and pulled his friend up. He squeezed the small hand in encouragement and pulled Gon to follow him.

Where to go? Killua didn't know. There was neither path nor direction in this darkness. But he just could not sit in a place waiting for whatever that had slaughtered the Ryodan members to spot them.

Killua had been walking for a long time when he saw a large open door ahead. On the other side of the door was only light. Not the cruel and threatening light he had saw on the altar, but a tender and inviting soft light.

In darkness, the door looked like it was floating. Killua hesitated. What should he do? The other side of the door didn't carry any threat, but it could also be a trap. He looked back at the long way they had gone, only to find a thick wall of darkness. His eyes traveled back to Gon. The weakened nen cages weren't strong enough to store his nen. They kept seeping out so he had to resupply them with his nen constantly. If he didn't find a way out, soon he would be exhausted. And then, Gon would…

Killua refused to continue that thought. He grasped Gon shoulders and looked deep into the confused and dull eyes. "Listen, we'll go there. Whatever happens, don't be afraid, all right? I'll protect you with my life. We will make it out of here, I promise."

Gon did not response. Those words were more like therapy for his stricken heart more than for the lost mind of his friend. The light on the other side of the door still invited them with a promising vision of safety. Killua breathed in deeply, and then lead both of them through it.

≈•≈

The sweet fragrance of wild flowers mixed with the smell of wet soil, caressing his skin like silk. A bird chirped; its singing voice blended with the murmurs of a brook somewhere faraway into a light, happy song. Leorio groaned and opened his eyes slowly. He tried to sit up, but just stirring hurt. What happened? He tried again, but the pain won over his effort. He could only bring his body up only a little before he fell flat on his back. The grass did not help much. Their leaves were sharp, and some rubbed his hands and cheeks all the wrong way.

Grass? Leorio startled and blinked up at a deep crystal blue sky high above. Fresh grass rustled all around him. Tiny white flowers swayed in the wind, some even stuck in his hair and sleeves.

Why was there grass? Weren't they standing on the stone platform? Where was Kurapika? Worry rushed back with that name. Leorio grit his teeth and pulled himself up, finally succeeding after several tries.

It seemed he was no longer on the same mountain, because he was really stifled in the pile of thick coats he was wearing. Leorio staggered up and darted his eyes around, shocked as he found himself in the middle of broad grassland. The wind glided on the grass, blowing green waves far to the horizon. The doctor took off his winter clothes in difficulty as each friction of cloth against his skin hurt. As the coats fell down lifelessly on the grass, Leorio froze as he stared down at his shirt and trousers, all wet with blood. Quickly he took them off and checked his own wounds.

Whatever the massive power was, it had left two deep, long slash on his left arm, one on the right, three on his chest and back, one on his left leg. Not to mention many shallow ones around them. The strangest thing was that even though Leorio was bleeding, there were no holes or torn places on the clothes. The doctor was not the type who cracked their heads over trivial matters though. He just tore the clothes to tire the wounds up without any further thoughts. After another long moment of resting, he got up and started to search for Kurapika. Leorio was sick with worry. The boy had not been well on the mountain top, and now in an unfamiliar place his health could have turned for the worst.

The soft, murmuring sound of water lured him to his left.

There was no sign of Kurapika, but Leorio found a narrow river instead. The slow and gentle water carried on its stream the fallen flowers of some unfamiliar trees, offering travelers a taste of sweat serenity. Leorio walked down the river and sighed in relief as even near the middle, the river was only up to his chest. The water was clean enough, so he believed it wouldn't infect his wounds.

He advanced another stepped, and shouted in fright as he stared at the crimson flow around him.

He was wading in a river of blood.

≈•≈

Hundreds… Thousands of graves surrounded him in the middle of a huge cemetery. Illumi had been walking for hours, but before his eyes were still unending rows of graves. Light-headed and confused, the assassin weaved through the graves to a dry, dead tree and sat down under its scrubby branches. His sore body demanded to rest; he had waked up and found himself stuck in this strange world with serious injuries and a terrible headache. Now most of the wounds had stopped bleeding and the headache had gone, but he kept feeling his mind going in circle like he was staring at the world through a heavy mist.

Illumi thought of getting up and continued to search for a way out idly; however, the thought melted away as quickly as a snowflake. The cemetery stretched out to the horizon, telling him it was pointless to struggle to escape.

And… Illumi rested his head on the tree bark. It was just so… peaceful…

Death was everywhere. Death leaked out from the graves, entwined with the wet smell of mud or rotten wood, and spread all over the ground. Death echoed in the ravens' song and carved into the lone sunset its dark existence.

It was sorrowful enough to make one's heart break…

But even as death closed in from all directions, Illumi sighed and closed his eyes, never feeling more content.

≈•≈

The world rushed back in agony. The stained gray ceiling was the first thing Machi saw when she opened her eyes. She sat up, feeling like she had just crossed the border between life and death.

What had happened? Shouldn't she be on the Rolrick Trasfery? She remembered to go there with the rest of the Ryodan, and… A choked cry escaped her throat.

Shizuku… Sphinx…

Right before her eyes, they had…

No, she could not let it affect her, Machi pressed her hand on her face. Right from the beginning when they chose their path, they had always been walking in the arms of death. So there was no reason to regret. There was no reason to be mournful. Even if… there were things more horrible than death…

What had happened?

After Sharlnark deciphered the words on the pendants, they took the linguist's unbroken pendant, hired a plane and flew straight to the Rolrick Trasfery. As they reached the mountain, the Ryodan met with a city in panic

The mountain brightened up in a huge sphere of light, its edge nearly met with the level 2 barrier. Some of the guards at the level 2 ran back, only to vomit blood and died within an hour. The special city force, the unit directly under the mayor's command was dispatched to bring the remaining guards back, but they never made it to their destination. The unit consisted of carefully chosen men with good combat skills and high resistance to damage. However, all of them went berserk and lunged at one another, turning the rescue to a bloodbath. The hunters that had volunteered to help claimed something or someone was messing with their head. They all left, fearing that if they stayed, they would end up with the same fate as the mayor's men.

Ryodan felt the influence immediately, but they were much more powerful than normal hunters so they could handle it well. However, they could not get through the light wall around the mountain. It took them a while to find out that only with the pendant, a group of three or four people could pass through the light wall.

"Since this pendant is unbroken, there must be at least one sacrifice ritual left." Sharlnark told them. "We should bring the boy with us just in case. If anything happens, let him be the sacrifice."

So Shinzuku, Sphinx and Machi left, carrying the boy with them, confidently that they could find Idelian. The path up the mountain was hard, not because of its terrain but because of something, a strange, suffocating presence constantly striking at their minds. On the way, suddenly the pendant they put on the boy lit up, and they were enveloped on a huge white light.

Machi didn't know what had happened. She only remembered trying to reach her comrades through a haze of agony, and finally fainted, her mind numb with anguish as mutilated body parts fall around her like a rain of blood.

What about the rest of the Ryodan? Were they safe?

Machi looked around, desperate to find away back. The room she was in was a mess with piles of junks and rotten food leftover. Moss grew all over the foot of the walls and along the dry water streaks running down from the cracked roof. The wall in front of her had broken down, revealing a vast, painfully blue sky behind.

She must be in an abandoned skyscraper somewhere, Machi thought, stalked by a sense of familiarity. She dragged herself to the broken wall, dread of what she would see.

Below, tiny people roamed on dirty garbage among countless rusty and crooked thrown-away machine. Faraway, collapsed buildings and abandoned skyscrapers glared back at her; broken glass and steel poles tore the sky into shreds.

The city of the Shooting Star…

≈•≈

Kuroro was not someone who only knew to wait passively in dangerous circumstances. He preferred to take the initiation and turn the table with his own strength. But now, he rooted in one spot with the open book hanging loosely in his hand, waiting for something to change. Anything.

It was not intuition that told Kuroro to wait. He simply couldn't decide what to do. The vast area around him was empty with nothing and no one in sight, not a single tree, not a single rock. A soft white light shone from a white, cloudless sky over a flat white floor. The unending whiteness blurred the horizon into blank space, so still and soundless that it made the dull scene of snow on the Rolrick Trasfery pale in comparison.

In his book, Kuroro had collected several treasure-hunting techniques but they had all failed to work. The searching nen waves spread out for miles, but none of them turned back, which also meant that there weren't anything blocking their way. The earlier power had disappeared and Kuroro detected no danger, but the silence world still made him tense in anticipation of an unclear approaching threat.

…

The whiteness sank even the sense of time. Kuroro felt that a couple of hours had passed, but it could be just a dozen of minutes as well. His hand rose to his forehead as a light headache suddenly attacked. Not only that, he could not concentrate and his eyes were slightly blurring. It was true that thoughts of Kurapika and Machi troubled him, but the way his body reacted was unnatural. Kuroro frowned, realizing the first symptom of being exposed to a large amount of energy for too long.

A noise startled him from his left. It might just be one of his companions, but before that thought could hit him, his strained senses had driven him into throwing nen blades in that direction.

"Stop! It's me!" The newcomer cried.

Kuroro turned around saw Roy heading towards him with joy painting all over his face.

Roy cried and jumped back, just in time to dodge the nen blade slashing down. The huge crack caused by Kuroro's attack closed and immediately returned to plain whiteness. The surprise on Roy's face turned into panic as Kuroro appeared in front of him, one hand clasped around his neck.

"What are you--?"

Roy didn't have the chance to finish his question as he was lifted up from the ground.

"Where are Kurapika and Machi ?" Kuroro demanded.

"...You..."

Kuroro squeezed harder, not enough to kill Roy, but enough to deliver pain. "Don't think I will hesitate killing you. You bring us here, so you must know where they are. Spill it out."

"...You are not..." Roy whispered, his voice lost and uncertain. His hand was no longer trying to peel off Kuroro's hold on his neck and now fell limply at his side.

Suddenly Roy raised his hand and slammed it down. Immediately Kuroro flung the other to his left. Roy pushed himself up quickly, one hand pressed on his bruised neck as he tried to regain his breathing, and the other held a silver knife defensively at his chest.

The book on Kuroro's hand opened. The air around them was thick with murderous aura, but none of them move. They both kept their defense, waiting for the opponent's next action.

A tear rolled down Roy's cheek. He closed his eyes, but tears still spilled over his eyelids.

"Why, Reficul…"

The knife slid out of his hand and created a dry sound as it hit the ground. Roy advanced towards Kuroro, his arms open and his defense dropped. "Kuroro, just kill me. I have even reduced to this resort… if I could not wake Reficul up, there wasn't any point in living anymore."

Neither Roy's unexpected attitude nor the strange name surprised Kuroro as he had faced them several times on their so-called quest. Still he held himself back. Roy might look hopeless and suicidal, but it could also be just another trick.

Suddenly Roy screamed and bounced over. He clutched his chest where a small blade appeared, gone through his body from his back. At the same time, a dry noise cruelly crushed the silence of the white world. Kuroro's calmness shattered in a second as he recognized the familiar sound of a steel chain hitting the ground.

The force of the attack pushed Roy forward into Kuroro. As a reflex, he took that body into his arms and slid down to one knee with the weight. His eyes left Roy to gaze up.

The blade stuck into Roy's back was connected to a finger by a thin chain. Kurapika stood before them, an arrogant smile on his face.

≈•≈

TBC...


End file.
